Realm Remix
by Rogue Ronin
Summary: A co-fic written with Caspian: Different realms have been opening up all over. No one is sure why, or who is behind this. Will they be able to find out in time before the whole world is destroyed? Updated to ch 19
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Hey * hey! Hi, Rogue Ronin here, how's it going? Good I hope. Anyway, as you can tell Caspian and I are doing a co-fic. Here it goes, we don't own anything that deals with the RW cast in any form, so don't even think about it. You know my character; Kaye and Caspian's character is Tigermoon. The emails go as follows: Caspian's is caspian_scholar@hotmail.com and mine is cokeacola_75@hotmail.com. Enjoy! Sayonara! Ja Ne!  
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Chapter 1  
  
As she watches the red and yellow colors of the sunset cascade into each other, she wonders if she has finally found the refuge that she's been seeking all this time. She walks along the deck of an old shrine that she stumbled across while escaping from the Dynasty. For once it was quiet in the Dynasty. No soldiers, no wars, nothing - just quiet.   
  
Not even her dreams could haunt her here.  
  
Just as she was about to go inside the old shrine, a bright florescent blue light shot up into the air, catching her attention. A faint wind began to pick up around it. A small black feather that had been lying on the ground scuttled gently towards it, as if attracted to its energy. The feather drew closer and closer to the light, and then, suddenly… it was gone.  
  
Her eyes widened as she looked at the light in fascination, not really thinking about where it came from – just where it was going. Part of her just wanted to stay and be left alone, but the other part was very curious about that light. After fighting herself, she finally came to a decision. "There's no real harm just looking. I mean, it's not like anyone else saw it either, and I don't have anything to lose. At least I hope not. I know that I'm going to regret this," Tigermoon thought, as she finally decided to investigate the light.  
  
The wind became stronger as she came closer to the light. "What's going on? Hey! What's the deal? There has better be a movie on this flight!" Tigermoon thought as she was lifted up into the light and vanished without a trace.  
  
The bright florescent blue light appeared, and then in a blink of an eye it disappeared, leaving a very confused person lying on the ground. "What a rip! I was right, there was no movie! What the...where am I?" Tigermoon wondered. A small, black feather fell out of the sky and onto her head. She picked it up and stared at it. It was, indeed, the same one. Shrugging, she stuck it in her pocket and looked around.  
  
It looked like she had landed in a little alley between two apartment buildings. At one end of the alley was another building, and at the other end was the open sidewalk with streets, stores, sidewalks, shoppers and sky. Blue sky, with rainclouds gathering in it… this was Earth?  
  
"Kaye! Hey, Kaye wait up will ya?" Kento asked as he was trying to catch up with her. Tigermoon quickly jumped onto the rooftop of the nearby building before anyone noticed her, and then watched them during their conversation. She couldn't believe it. The two people on the street were surrounded by colored fields of energy – orange for the male, and silver for the female. Almost like the energy found all over the Dynasty. Just when she had thought it was all behind her.  
  
Kaye stopped and turned around. "Kento, I told you that I was leaving," Kaye replied as she grinned at him.  
  
"Yea, I know, but you still could have waited," Kento grinned back.  
  
"Whatever. Anyway, I have to pick up a couple of things from Mia's list, and then we can go home. Unless, of course, you want to come in with me," Kaye invited as she opened the door to a shop.  
  
"It looks like it's going to rain. You don't want to stand out here in the middle of a shower, do you?" Kaye knew that Kento would never set foot in a dress shop for anything, but it was fun to tease him a little.  
  
"Ah, no that's ok. I'll just go and get the car, and then I'll wait out here for you ok." Kento said as he backed away and ran to the car.  
  
"I don't remember ever seeing him run that fast before, oh well." Kaye thought, smiling, and then walked inside.   
  
"Great, this is all I need. Besides not knowing where I am, I'm going to get wet. I hate getting wet!" Tigermoon thought as she felt raindrops on her head. She looked around for some kind of cover, but couldn't find any. Then she noticed that a window in the building across from hers was open. She quickly looked around and jumped across, then swung herself in. The place she had landed in seemed to be the second floor of an interesting dress shop.  
  
To her dismay, Tigermoon saw that Kaye wasn't too far from where she was hiding. The blonde girl was on the first floor, examining a list in her hands. The tall young woman's body was surrounded by silvery energy, but nobody else in the shop seemed to notice. "And the Powers that Be looked down from heaven, and said 'you're screwed, Tigermoon,'" she growled to herself. She tried to scoot back further so that Kaye wouldn't see her, but just as she was moving back, she knocked over a small ceramic vase. "Oh, no, please don't…"   
  
The vase rolled down the stairs and crashed onto the floor. "…Fall…" Tigermoon finished pointlessly. She quietly wished she was dead as the vase broke into shards – right at the feet of the blonde girl she had been trying to avoid. Kaye turned around and looked down, she could see that the vase was completely destroyed. Just then, for some reason she sensed some kind of power coming from above. Kaye looked around and spotted the stairs; she then quickly climbed them and began to look around. Tigermoon knew that she was in for it now. She saw that Kaye was coming, but there was nowhere that she could go. The window was closed tight, and it was still raining.  
  
"Hello, is anyone up here?" Kaye called out as she continued looking. Tigermoon decided to stay hidden in the shadows, thinking that maybe Kaye would give up and go away on her own.  
  
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. "It looks like she's not going to leave on her own. I guess that I'm going to make her leave." Tigermoon thought, as she got ready to attack from her hiding place.   
  
"Ok you can come out now, I'm not going to hurt you." Kaye said as she spotted her. Tigermoon leaped out of the shadows, and jumped over Kaye's head and landed behind her. Kaye quickly turned around and looked at her.  
  
"You? Hurt me? I'll have to remember that one. What are you, a comic or something?" Tigermoon replied, as she was ready to fight.  
  
"All right, just calm down. There's no need for us to fight. So why don't we just get down from here and find some place that we can talk, ok?" Kaye said as she tried to coax Tigermoon from her fighting stance.  
  
"No, stay away! I'm warning you! I'll hurt you if you come any closer!" Tigermoon panicked as she was backing away.  
  
"I know that you can sense something from me. I sense something from you too. So why don't we just go somewhere and..." Kaye said in the same calm tone, as she was about to come closer to her.  
  
"I told you, stay away!" Tigermoon spat as she disappeared in a blink of an eye and then reappeared right next to Kaye, swiping at her head.  
  
"What is taking her so long? I mean, sheesh, how long of a list did Mia give Kaye anyway?" Kento thought as he was beginning to get impatient. Just as he looked over into the store, he saw Kaye falling to the ground inside. Kento quickly ran out of the car and into the store.  
  
"Hey, did you do this? Hey, answer me!" Kento yelled as he went out to grab onto Tigermoon's arm. Just as Kento grabbed onto her arm, she disappeared. Kento just stared straight ahead, dark eyes wide, not believing what he just saw. A groan suddenly brought him back to reality, and then he kneeled down to see if she was all right.  
  
"Kaye, what happened? Are you ok?" Kento asked as he cradled her into his arms.  
  
"Kento? Where did she go?" Kaye asked groggily.  
  
"Who? Where did who go Kaye?" Kento asked in confusion.  
  
"Didn't you see her? A girl, kind of wiry, with dark brown hair streaked with dark purple. She had these green cat's eyes, like a tiger's. She..." Kaye replied as she winced in pain.  
  
"Shh, don't talk, save your strength. You can tell the others and me later. I have to get you home so Sage can take a look at you." Kento said as he picked her up and carried her to the car, carefully buckled her in and then drove home.  
  
Just as they left the store, Tigermoon reappeared. "I warned her," she scowled. She watched them in concern as they took off. "And what did she mean by that we sense something from each other?" Tigermoon wondered as she disappeared.  
  
About fifteen to twenty minutes later...  
  
"Sage, where are you? Sage!" Kento yelled as he burst through the door carrying Kaye inside.  
  
"Kento, what's with the..?" Mia wondered as she jogged in from the kitchen. Her eyes widened as she saw why he was in such a panic. "Get her to the couch! Rowen!" She shouted out the open door.   
"Go and get Sage, hurry!" Then the woman ran for an icepack.  
  
"What's going on? Why is Rowen in such a hurry to..?" Sage asked as he and Rowen ran into the mansion. When he saw Kaye lying hurt on the couch, he knew why. Sage quickly transformed and started to heal her.  
  
"Hey, what's going on around here? What happened?" Ryo asked as he and Cye ran into the living room and saw that Sage called back his armor.  
  
"Sage, what's with the armor?" Cye asked, as they got closer to the couch.  
  
"What happened to Kaye?" Ryo demanded, forgetting to use his 'indoor voice' in his excitement.  
  
"It looks like something happened in town, but Kento isn't telling us anything." Rowen replied as he looked at Hardrock in confusion.  
  
A quiet groan from the couch made everyone turn their attention towards Kaye as she was starting to come around. "You guys mind turning it down, my head is pounding." Kaye said as she started to slowly sit up. Mia came in and handed her the icepack, which she took gratefully. She pressed it gingerly to her temple, wincing at the cold.  
  
"Kaye, are you all right?" Ryo asked in concern.  
  
"You mean besides this major pounding in my head, then yea I feel just great." Kaye replied sarcastically.  
  
"Here, maybe these will help ya with that." Cye said as he handed over some aspirin and something to drink.  
  
"Thanks, Cye." Kaye replied as she took the aspirin and the chai. She quickly downed the aspirin and then took a drink, and then settled back into the couch, holding the icepack to her forehead.  
  
"Now will you two mind telling us what happened?" Sage asked as they settled down to hear their story.  
  
"Not much to tell, as you already know, we were in town. I went to get the items on Mia's list; Kento went to get the car. Then I was talking to this girl, she seemed like she was scared or something. She then disappeared and then reappeared right next to me, swiped at my head. I blocked and then the next thing I knew, I was falling to the ground and I end up on the couch with all you guys yelling at me," Kaye explained as she took another drink.  
  
"What did this girl look like?" Mia asked.  
  
"Kinda wiry, with dark brown hair and purple streaks. She has green cat's eyes, like a tiger's. When I saw Kaye falling, I ran inside and I saw that girl hovering over Kaye, it looked like she might have been concerned or something. I confronted her but she didn't respond, then I went to grab her arm, and she just disappeared." Kento replied as he finished the story.  
  
"Do you think that she could be from the Dynasty?" Cye asked.  
  
"I'm not sure, I guess it could be possible. I mean, just because Talpa is gone doesn't mean that something or someone won't try and come through a gate of some kind, just to get here." Rowen answered.  
  
"But if that's true, then why didn't we sense one opening up? Usually when one of those Dynasty gates open all kinds of things happen." Ryo asked worriedly.  
  
"Maybe it wasn't a Dynasty gate. Maybe it was a gate from somewhere else, but it could open up wherever it wants." Mia calmly replied, as she reached for her trusty old laptop.  
  
"Whoa, wait a minute, hold the phone. Are you saying that there's more than one type of gate?" Kaye asked in confusion.  
  
"In theory, yes. But exactly what kind of gate is going to be hard to find, especially since we don't know what it looks like." Rowen replied.  
  
"So then what? Are you saying that if we find this girl that attacked Kaye, then she'll be able to tell us about this gate?" Kento asked skeptically.  
  
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Rowen said confidently.  
  
"But how are we suppose to find her? I mean it's not like she's just going to show up out of nowhere and say 'here I am,'" Kento said.  
  
"Guess what, here I am." Tigermoon replied as she stood on top of the banister looking down at them. 


	2. ch2

Disclaimer: Caspian has taken the mic from Rogue Ronin's more sensible hands to say "Wouldn't it be funny if we said we DID own Ronin Warriors in one of these? Just once?" Well, anyway, we don't. If you happen to own them, we are interested in taking them off your hands. Send them as follows: Kento and Ronins go to Rogue Ronin at cokeacola_75@hotmail.com; Ancient and Warlords go to me at caspian_scholar@hotmail.com. Enjoy!  
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Chapter 2  
  
The Dynasty. All was silent and peaceful in the old battlefields by the marsh. The ruins of the Nine Towers slowly crumbled to stone and dust nearby, and the desolation around them was gradually turning to Netherworld vegetation -- thin golden grass and silvery shrubs began to take root in the former wasteland.  
  
In the center of the area sat a slender, young-looking woman, a girl really, with a thick curtain of dark hair. Kayura's breathing was deep and even as she meditated, sending herself into a trance.  
  
It was a task that she had set for herself to check the energy fields of the former Dynasty, to make sure that they were healing back into their ancient patterns. Talpa's power had twisted and distorted them, even ripping the energy in places where he had tried to meld it with the Mortal World.  
  
Tears, rips and distortions in the energy had resulted in strange things going on in the Netherworld. Spirits stalked the marshes again, after centuries of banishment. The three Warlords and Kayura had strange, fragmented dreams, like broken radio transmissions haunting them at night. Their kanjis would glow suddenly, as if one of them was hurt or in need, but when they checked to see what was wrong, none of the Warlords were injured. The Ancient's staff, which Kayura kept with her at all times, would glow sometimes with a fierce and raging light; at other times it was almost impossible to use.  
  
The four demon horses that they had kept from the old Dynasty were restless, fidgety and wild -- strange behavior in those creatures. Gates appeared without being summoned. Of course, Gates always lead somewhere, so Earth animals crossed over from them -- flocks of Earth birds suddenly found themselves in a completely different world, a pack of flamingos had taken up residence in the marshes, a giraffe had somehow wandered in and was now grazing the stunted trees. It had been very disconcerting for Cale when he had gone to use the bathroom and found an ocelot in the shower. Most disturbing of all was when Kayura went spirit-walking, as she was doing now.  
  
Feeling at complete peace, she reached out to feel the lifelines of the world all around her. At first, all seemed normal. The Dynasty was healing over.  
  
Then she felt the rip. Echoes of strange energy sounded within her head, but Kayura fought away the fear, knowing that her own panic was more dangerous than anything in the energy fields. What was going on? Blue light seared across her vision and she screamed out in pain, falling back into her own body with a jolt.  
  
The next thing she knew, Kayura was on her bed in her room, with four faces looking down at her -- three men and an ocelot. The ocelot looked... pale.  
  
"Why is Kokoro white?" was the first thing she asked.  
  
Cale rolled his dark blue eyes, "Don't ask."  
  
Dais looked smug. "Because Sekhmet tried to bleach him."  
  
The green-haired Warlord scowled at him. "He was dirty."  
  
"That's not dirt, Sekh, that's his natural coloring. I already told you that!" Cale said defensively.  
  
"I notice you waited until after he bleached him to tell him," Dais sighed.  
  
"And miss seeing the look on your face?"  
  
The ocelot, which Kayura had named Kokoro, or "spirit," sat on Kayura's chest and sulked. He did look very... white.  
  
"Why am I here?" was the second thing Kayura asked.  
  
"We found you on the marsh when we were chasing Kokoro. He didn't like being bleached."  
  
"What happened to me?" Kayura tried to sit up, then decided not to. "Ow. Headache." She lay back down.  
  
"You have a hangover?" Cale offered unhelpfully. Dais hit him. "Ittai!"  
  
"There's something wrong out there, isn't there," Sekhmet said over the sounds of the other two fighting.  
  
"I... think so," Kayura said, trying to sit up again. Not surprisingly, she couldn't do it this time, either. "It seemed like the energy fields were healing over normally. Well, as normally as we could expect. But when I went out to check them today..." she winced, "Something was wrong... Dais, could you get the Ancient's staff?"  
  
"Right here." He handed her the artifact, which looked dark and ordinary. "What happened to it?" Kayura wondered. It felt cold to the touch.  
  
"Who knows. The same thing that's been happening across the Netherworld."  
  
"What could be causing this?" Kayura whispered.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
When we last left off at the Ronin House...  
  
"But how are we suppose to find her? I mean it's not like she's just going to show up out of nowhere and say 'here I am,'" Kento said.  
  
"Guess what, here I am." Tigermoon replied as she stood on top of the banister looking down at them.  
  
There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone looked up at her. Then Rowen leapt to his feet, hands balled into fists. "You're that girl, aren't you! What are you doing here?"  
  
"Standing on the banister, Master of the Obvious." Her answer dripped sarcasm and self-confidence. Then she lost her balance and fell. Into Ryo's lap.  
  
"Ack!" Tigermoon scrambled off him and landed on her rear in the middle of the floor. Five Ronins, Mia and Kaye looked down at her. Not openly hostile, yet, but not all that friendly either. "Heh."  
  
Two strong hands landed on her shoulders and she was heaved to her feet. "What did you do to Kaye?" Kento's voice was not welcoming as he spun the wiry girl around to face him.  
  
Despite herself, she cringed. "You."  
  
"Me," he agreed, scowling.  
  
"Her," Tigermoon agreed, pointing to Kaye on the couch.  
  
"Me," Kaye answered dryly.  
  
"I just wanted to see if she was all right." Tigermoon looked up at him with wide green eyes. Her hands were wrapped into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She wasn't going to lose it again, not when she was so badly outnumbered. Just try to stay calm, explain yourself, don't hurt anybody. The man who had her by the shoulders was intimidating physically, plus he had that distrubing aura of power. Sheer, unbending iron strength. She felt very small. Tigermoon took a deep breath and started to babble, despite herself. "I'm sorry, I guess. I'm not used to people. This girl was just coming after me. And, and, she wouldn't go away, and it was really annoying, and--"  
  
"Yeah, Kaye can be like that," Sage put in from his corner. The aforementioned woman gave him a look and he just grinned.  
  
"And I didn't mean to hurt her that badly, and... you're hurting my shoulder..."  
  
"Kento, let go of her," Mia ordered. Tigermoon stepped back with a sigh of relief. "I... guess I'll go away now."  
  
"No, you won't." Ryo grabbed her firmly by the arm. "We saw what you did to Kaye--"  
  
"--Jeez, Ryo, it isn't that bad," Kaye put in.  
  
"-- and we aren't just letting you go. Who are you? Where did you come from?"  
  
"And why did you run away?" Kaye finished. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"  
  
The girl's thin shoulders slumped. "Even if I told you where I was from, you wouldn't believe me," she stated, and vanished.  
  
Almost instantly, the air where she had been blurred and seemed to twist. With a thud, Tigermoon reappeared, landing ungracefully on the floor. "What is with these energy fields?" she spat. "I swear, it's as bad here as it is in the Dynasty!" 


	3. ch3

Chapter 3  
  
"The Dynasty! I knew it, grab her, and don't let her get away!" Kento growled as he went for her.   
  
"Eep!" Tigermoon said as she quickly jumped up from the floor and onto the chandelier.  
  
"Hey, get down here!" Ryo yelled up to her.  
  
"Forget that, there's no way that you can make me get down." Tigermoon replied as she clung onto the chandelier.  
  
"You know what, you're probably right. We won't make you come down." Rowen said with a mischievous smile.  
  
"You, you won't?" Tigermoon asked in surprise.  
  
"Rowen..." Sage whispered to him in confusion.  
  
"Sage, shh...I know what I'm doing." Rowen whispered back as he backed away from the chandelier.  
  
"Ok blue boy, what's the deal?" Tigermoon asked suspiciously.  
  
"There's no deal, if you don't want to come down, then you don't have to. You'll just stay up there." Rowen replied as he started to leave the room. Everyone looked around with confused looks on their faces. All of them wondering pretty much the same thing, has Rowen finally lost his mind?  
  
"Hey, are you guys coming or what?" Rowen yelled from the kitchen. They all looked at each other, and then one by one left the room.  
  
"Hey! You're not just going to leave me here?" Tigermoon yelled in disbelief.   
  
"You're the one that said you won't come down." Rowen replied as she stuck his head into the room.  
  
"Yea, well I changed my mind. Now is someone going to help me down from here?" Tigermoon asked as she was starting to get annoyed.  
  
"Nope. You got yourself up there, so then you can get yourself down." Rowen replied as he turned around and walked back to the table.  
  
"Oyo, when I get down from here. That blue boy is so going to get it." Tigermoon mumbled under her breath as she was looking around for a place to land. "Wait a minute, why am I doing this the hard way? All I have to do is..." Tigermoon thought as a light bulb finally went off in her head.  
  
"Space shift, and then ta da, no more high places." Tigermoon finished as she grinned.  
  
"What took you?" Cye asked as he tapped her onto the shoulder.  
  
"Yipe!" Tigermoon replied as she quickly turned around and faced him. "Don't do that!"  
  
"Now would you sit down and tell us who you are, and how you got here from the Dynasty?" Kaye asked as she gestured for her to sit down on the couch.  
  
"Her name is Tigermoon, and I would suspect that she got here the same way as us." Kayura said as she and the warlords appeared.  
  
"Kayura, and the warlords here?" Tigermoon thought as she quickly got behind Kaye.  
  
"Hey, what the...What's the matter with you? Get out from behind me, would ya?" Kaye asked as she tried to move from one spot to the next, but every time that she moved, Tigermoon was right there behind her.  
  
"We've come to tell you that something is very wrong in the Dynasty." Cale said as he glanced over at Tigermoon.  
  
"What do you mean? I thought that since Talpa was finally defeated, that everything would go back to the way they were?" Rowen asked as he looked over at Kayura.  
  
"For a while, everything was back to normal. But recently, for some reason the rifts and tears   
between the Dynasty and your world have been acting up, and portals have been popping up everywhere. And that's not the worst of it." Kayura replied as she looked back at him.  
  
"You mean there's more?" Kento asked skeptically.  
  
"Isn't there always?" Sage replied in annoyance.  
  
"Go on Kayura." Mia said as she threw them a look.  
  
Kayura nodded and then continued, "you see, there's something wrong with the Ancient's staff."   
Kayura replied as she brought the staff in front of her.  
  
"What are you talking about? When the Ancient and Anubis had the staff, nothing went wrong, but as soon as you got possession of it, what it stop working?" Ryo asked as he looked at her in a skeptical manner.  
  
"No Wildfire, you annoying fire ant, for some reason the staff is ice cold." Kayura shot back.  
  
"What! No way, it can't be possible! More in likely you're probably doing something wrong.   
Here, let me take a look at it." Tigermoon said as she finally got out from behind Kaye.  
  
"How would you know anything about the Ancient's staff? You're not even of his clan." Dais replied as he stepped in front of her.  
  
"Hey spider-boy, I don't have to be from the Ancient's clan to know how it works, so just back off." Tigermoon said as she pushed him out of the way.  
  
"Why you, little..." Dais growled as he started to lunge for her.   
  
"Dais!" Sekhmet said as he grabbed his arm.  
  
"But...she, she can't get away with that! I'm a warlord!" Dais replied as he looked back at him in anger.  
  
"Correction Dais, an ex-warlord. We're not evil any more, remember." Cale said as he walked up to him.  
  
"Whatever." Dais replied as he threw his hands up in the air, turned around and walked over to the couch and sat down in a huff.  
  
"Now are you going to let me take a look at it, or are we going to waste time and play guess what's wrong with the Ancient staff?" Tigermoon asked in annoyance.  
  
"All right fine, but I doubt that you'll be able to figure out why it's not working." Kayura   
replied as she reluctantly handed the staff over to Tigermoon.   
  
"Question, when was the last time you had this thing charged?" Tigermoon asked with a smirk.  
  
"Would you stop fooling around, and find out what's wrong with it?" Kayura asked back.  
  
"Ok, ok sheesh, Kayura you need to work on your sense of humor. But I guess you need to have one before you can work on it." Tigermoon replied.  
  
"Why you..." Kayura said as she glared at her.  
  
"Do you mind? I'm trying to concentrate, but I can't do that if you're still talking." Tigermoon replied as she quickly closed her eyes and started to concentrate.   
  
"Check out Kayura, I've never seen anyone get her so riled up like that before." Kaye whispered as she was trying to keep from laughing out loud. Just then Kayura quickly snapped her attention from Tigermoon and directed it right at Kaye.   
  
"I heard that, you better count yourself lucky that we didn't meet during the Dynasty wars.   
Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing there now." Kayura replied angrily.  
  
"Whatever Kayura." Kaye said as she rolled her eyes.  
  
"No one disrespects Kayura, and gets away with it." Cale said as he started to approach Kaye.  
  
"Don't even think about it Cale, you're not even going to come close to laying a hand on her."   
Kento said as he got between them.  
  
"Ok that's it! I won't have any fights break out in my house! If you're going to fight, then   
take it outside." Mia yelled angrily as she pointed to the back door.  
  
Tigermoon, finally frustrated with all of the fighting that was going on, decided that it was time to leave. So she slowly opened her eyes, took a quick look around and then vanished with the Ancient staff.  
  
"Oh great, hey guys! HEY!" Cye said as he was trying to get their attention. Unfortunately, no one heard him, and then he decided to give one very loud-shrill whistle.  
  
"Ouch! Cye what?!" Ryo asked as he was rubbing his ear.  
  
"Take a good look around, and then tell me what or I should say whom is missing." Cye replied as he crossed his arms.  
  
"Oh nice one! This is just great! I knew it, the minute that we turned our backs, she would have disappeared with the staff!" Kayura said in annoyance.  
  
"No I don't think so, Tigermoon was going to finally tell us everything, and then you and your warlords had to show up and cause trouble." Kento replied hotly.  
  
"This is a surprise, Hardrock actually thinks." Dais said with a smirk.  
  
"Hey! Shut your mouth Dais!" Kento shot back.  
  
"Try and make me. I know that you've been itching for a rematch." Dais said as he quickly stood up from the couch.  
  
"Yea right, get over yourself hocus pocus, as I remember it, I was the one who kicked your butt the last time." Kento replied as he glared at him.  
  
Cye gave another loud-shrill whistle, "all right, hold it! I think that the reason that Tigermoon left was because of the fighting. I would leave too if I couldn't concentrate in a room filled with bickering people." Cye said as he looked around at them.  
  
"Ok then, maybe we should go out and try to find her. I don't think that she would be use to our world just yet. She might get into trouble, Kayura, is there some way that you can track down the staff from here?" Kaye asked as she looked over at her.  
  
"Of course." Kayura replied in an arrogant tone.  
  
"Then what are you waiting for, an invitation?" Kaye asked.  
  
Kayura rolled her eyes, and then began to concentrate on homing in onto the Ancient staff. "I have a fix on it." Kayura replied after a few minutes passed by. 


	4. ch4

Chapter 4  
  
Tigermoon sighed peacefully as she looked around the place she had landed in. She had been aiming to go back to the Dynasty, but she had somehow ended up on the side of a mountain. It didn't look like any of the mountains she had ever seen before.  
  
The Ancient's staff was piercing cold in her hands as she settled down with it, examining it curiously. Getting lost in its enticing energy patterns distracted her mind from everything that was going on. "In the course of a few hours, I get evicted from the Netherworld, chased by some warrior lady, attacked by her boyfriend, surrounded, cruelly left to die on a chandelier, and then Kayura and the Warlords have to come back. Fate is out to get me," she rambled aloud, scowling angrily.  
  
In her heart she knew that the Warlords couldn't be blamed for everything they had done -- especially Kayura, who had never had the chance to use her own free will until the Ronins and Anubis freed her. Still, Tigermoon could feel nothing but fear towards them, and all that were like them -- including those new people she had just met.  
  
Shrugging away from these thoughts, she stared deeply into the staff. "I order you to act normal." Someone said something in a foreign language behind her. Tigermoon whirled around, gripping the staff so hard that she thought her fingers would freeze. "Aaah! -- What?"  
  
A family of people with brightly colored backpacks were standing there. The one that had spoken before started jabbering away in the same language.  
  
"Uh... I don't speak... whatever language that's suppposed to be. Do you speak Japanese?" Tigermoon asked.  
  
More jabbering, slower this time, as if the person thought he was talking to a very stupid sheep.  
  
"You want me to do what to your hamster?" Tigermoon started backing away. "Um... I'm going to go away now."  
  
She tried again to space shift to the Netherworld. At least she spoke the language there. But it didn't work; it was like she ran full-speed into a wall and bounced off in a direction that she didn't really want to go in. This time, she ended up in some kind of stone hall. Ancient rocks formed the walls, and the flagstones under her feet were worn smooth. The strange room was lit with an eerie glow, a weird kind of energy that seemed to make the air alive.  
---------------------------------  
  
Kaye appeared on a mountaintop, Kayura beside her. "I thought you said it was here," Kaye stated, turning to look at the shorter woman. Kayura growled. "It was!" she insisted.  
  
Kaye gave her a slightly mistrustful look. "Right."  
  
"Sprechen sie Deutsch?" A backpacker approached them.  
  
"No, I don't speak German," Kaye replied in perfect German. "I'm sorry."The backpacker blinked and backed away.  
  
Turning back to Kayura, she announced, "Move, please. You're standing in the middle of some tracks."  
  
Kayura stared. "Uh, all right," she replied, stepping away. She lowered her head and concentrated. "That's strange."  
  
"What is?" Kaye wondered. She knelt on the trail, examining the tracks.  
  
"I can't sense my staff. It's like it completely vanished." Kayura clenched her fists. "That little brat. I've never trusted her."  
  
"You know this Tigermoon?" Kaye asked, looking up briefly from the trail.  
  
"Not very well. What do you see there, oh Master of Woodcraft?"  
  
"That somebody about her size came here from nowhere, sat down, spun around, backed up, and vanished again." Kaye got to her feet with a confident smile.  
  
"Ah."  
----------------------------  
  
Dais looked up angrily as Kento paced past him for the thousandth time. "For crying out loud, Hardrock. Wearing holes in the carpet doesn't do any good."  
  
The Ronins and Warlords had come to an uneasy truce in Mia's living room. However, the tension was almost physical.  
  
Kento glared at Dais, but kept his anger in check. "Lazing around on an armchair doesn't do any good either."  
  
"I like this chair," Dais growled, hugging a pillow protectively.  
  
"I'll have you know that's MY special chair."  
  
"All right, boys, break it up," Mia called commandingly from the kitchen. "Dais, sit on the couch. Kento, quit pacing. Ryo, get your tiger out of here, he's eating all the curry!"  
  
"But Mia! Kaye's out there and we're just sitting around, doing nothing."  
  
"We're arguing," Cale pointed out. "Technically, arguing is doing some--" Sekhmet reached over, grabbed a pillow, and whacked him with it.  
  
Ryo got up. "I'll take White Blaze for a walk," he announced. "It's getting too crowded in here. White Blaze, here boy!"  
  
The tiger appeared from the kitchen, licking his chops and smelling strongly of curry. Ryo couldn't wait to get out of the house. He kept a tight rein on his temper, but having to hang out with his old enemies was just too much. It would have been better if Kayura and Kaye were there, but the two women had gone tracking, claiming that the others would just slow them up.  
  
Ryo slammed the door behind him and bolted down the steps. White Blaze galloped on ahead, sniffing the grass and attacking bugs. Just like an oversized housecat. Suddenly, the tiger dashed to other side of the house, and came back with a soccer ball held in his mouth.  
  
"Good boy. You want to play fetch?" Ryo took the wet ball and gave it a powerful kick. White Blaze ran to the other end of the field and caught it in the air. Then he came running back, powerful paws thudding loudly against the ground.  
  
Ryo held out his arms for the ball, but the tiger ran right past him and dropped it at someone else's feet.  
  
Cale smiled as he took the ball from the tiger. "Thanks. Um, here you go, Wildfire." He tossed it back over.  
  
Ryo stood still, not even trying to catch it. "What are you doing out here?"  
  
"I got bored," Cale shrugged, "And the others won't let me say anything. They think I'm a loose cannon. So I came out here."  
  
Ryo wanted to say, "You are a loose cannon." Instead, he picked up the ball and kicked it with all his might. White Blaze took off after it.  
  
"How's the Dynasty?" he asked, for conversation's sake.  
  
"Weird. When Kayura gets back, she'll tell you about it."  
  
Ryo kicked the ball again. "I can hardly wait."  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Tigermoon stared around her, green eyes huge. Goosebumps rose all down her arms. "What--? Where?"  
  
"There you are," a voice said coolly. "I was wondering when you'd get here."  
  
"Who?" Tigermoon spun in a circle, but saw nobody. Clumsily, she held the staff protectively in front of her, the rings jangling like windchimes. "What is this place?"  
  
"You brought the staff?"  
  
"What do you want?" Tigermoon shouted. Her voice echoed off the walls and seemed to intensify with the energy field. "Do you want... do you want... do you want...."  
  
"The staff, obviously."  
  
She blinked. "This--? This staff?"  
  
"You have a hard time understanding things, don't you," the voice said flatly. "Yes, that staff."  
  
Tigermoon's intuition sounded a warning and she lashed out behind her with the Ancient's staff. The golden rings clashed wildly as it connected with something that she couldn't see. Abruptly, her surroundings dissolved. A blinding light seared across her mind and she screamed out. 


	5. ch5

Realm Remix  
  
Chapter 5  
  
At the Koji mansion, a sense of tension and mistrust between the Ronins and the Warlords, along with a touch of concern hovered in the air. Suddenly, Kento stood up from "his special chair," and started to walk towards the back door. "Hardrock, where are you going?" Cale asked as he brought everyone's attention towards him.  
  
"Out, do you have a problem with that?" Kento shot back as he walked out and slammed the door behind him. Everyone turned their heads towards Cale.  
  
"What?" Cale asked as he looked back with a little confusion.  
  
"You just don't get it do you, Cale?" Dais asked as he got up and followed Kento.  
  
Outside...  
  
"Hardrock." Dais said as he stood behind him.  
  
"Dais, what do you want? I didn't ask for any company, and if I did, you would be the last person that I would ask." Kento replied as he kept his focus forward.  
  
"Believe it or not, I actually wanted to see how you're doing." Dais said as he stayed where he was.  
  
"That's a good one, since when do you care how I'm doing?" Kento asked in annoyance.  
  
"I don't blame you if you don't trust me, Hardrock." Dais replied, as he got a little closer.  
  
"You better believe that I don't trust you. As a matter of fact, none of us trust any of you." Kento shot back as he clenched his fists. "So, tell me Dais, why should we trust any of you at all?"   
  
"You bring up a good point, Dais said as he placed his hand on Kento's shoulder, "Who says that any of you should?" Kento quickly turned around and faced Dais with a look in his eyes that he had never seen before.   
  
Kento walked passed him and then went inside. "I do know what it feels like to be concerned about someone, Hardrock." Dais thought as he stood there.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"What's that?" Kaye wondered as she sensed something close by. "Kayura, I think that we better...oh great, just what I need right now," she said as she noticed that Kayura was in some kind of catatonic state.   
  
"Come on Kayura, snap out of it! This is no time for you to take a vacation!" Kaye said as she tried to wake her up.   
  
"Trespassers!" an angry voice yelled out from the shadows.  
  
"Hey, hold on! We're not trespassers, we're looking for a friend. Maybe you've seen her." Kaye said, as she got ready to get into a defensive position.  
  
"You're the only two that we've seen around here. Now, either you both leave on your own, or we'll make you leave." a second voice replied angrily.  
  
"Hey, incase you haven't notice, my friend here for some reason can't move." Kaye shot back. "And besides, I'm not leaving until you tell me what I want to know."  
  
"Well then, we have a slight problem, don't we." the first voice said as it started to slowly come out of the shadows.   
  
"What, what are you?" Kaye asked, as she was definitely now in a defensive position.   
  
"Let's just say that I'm something that you wouldn't want to meet up with in a dark alley on a stormy night." the creature said as it finally came out in full view. The creature had two heads, one head had the shape of a dragon, and the other had a head of some kind of bird, mounted onto a body of a very muscular panther. The creature started to salivate, it's eyes started hungrily at the two female warriors. "You know what, I've changed my mind. It's been a while since we've eaten, so maybe it's better if you two would stay...for dinner."   
  
"As Jackie Chan would say, Bad day, bad day!" Kaye thought as she stayed between Kayura and the creature.  
  
Not too far away, Tigermoon started to come around. "Ok, I'm starting to get more than a little annoyed here. The last thing I remember is that I'm in some kind of stone hallway, and this freak out of nowhere shows up, and then a blinding light shines, then I wake up here." Tigermoon thought as she got up and began to look around. A yell of pain suddenly caught Tigermoon's attention. She quickly ran close towards the edge of the cliff and saw that a fight was going on. Kayura was laying on the ground unconscious, while Kaye was in sub armor trying to fight the giant creature.  
  
"What are they doing here?" Tigermoon wondered curiously.   
  
"NO!" she yelled as she saw that the creature sent Kaye flying into a nearby tree. Just then, the rings on the staff started to clink around on the staff wildly. The sky started to turn dark, the creature stopped in mid-action and looked up into the sky.  
  
Back at the mansion...  
  
"Hey everyone, get out here and hurry!" Dais yelled from outside.   
  
"Dais, what's the big idea? Why did you..?" Cale asked as he and the others looked up towards the sky.  
  
"What's going on? Why is the sky so dark?" Sekhment wondered. "That's definitely not normal, is it?"  
  
"No, it's definitely not normal. Something's going on, and I doubt that it's good." Sage replied.  
  
"I knew it! I told you that we should of went with them!" Kento said in anger.  
  
"Kento, where are you going?" Ryo asked as Kento started to leave.  
  
"I'm going to find Kaye!" Kento shot back.  
  
"You don't even know where to start looking, and besides, if you did know where they were, you probably couldn't make it out to them fast enough." Dais said sternly.  
  
Just as soon as Dais said that, he found himself laying on the ground and looking up in shock while holding his jaw. "If you say anything like that ever again, it'll be more than your jaw that I'll hit, understand!" Cye said angrily. The others also gave Cye a major look of shock. He wasn't exactly a person to get angry, he's usually very level headed, but when he does, watch out.  
  
---------------------------------------------  
  
"NO! This can't be happening!" the creature cried out as it started to go up towards the opened vortex. Then as the creature was finally sucked in, it closed, but the sky still stayed dark.   
  
"Tigermoon," Kaye asked as she saw her coming cautiously towards her, "You...you did that, how?"  
  
Tigermoon stopped where she was and then fell to the ground from exhaustion. "Tigermoon!" Kaye yelled as she hurried over to her. Just as she got to her, the ground started to give way from under them. Kaye quickly grabbed onto Tigermoon and slung her over her back.   
  
"Oh man, I'll say it again, bad day, bad day." Kaye thought as she struggled to keep herself and Tigermoon from falling. Just as they were going to fall, someone grabbed onto Kaye's wrists. Kaye looked up and was shocked to say nonetheless.  
  
"Hey, where do you think that you two are going?" Kayura asked as she started to pull them up.  
  
"Kayura!" Kaye replied as they were now lying on the solid ground.  
  
"You seem surprised." Kayura said with a smirk.  
  
"Yea, you could say that. Ok then would ya answer me this?" Kaye asked as she looked towards her.  
  
"I suppose so." Kayura replied as she looked back.  
  
"Why did you save us from falling?" Kaye asked.  
  
"Would you of preferred that I let you two fall?" Kayura asked back.  
  
"Now that I think about it, ah no. But thanks for the save anyway." Kaye replied with a small smile as she called back her sub armor.  
  
"You're welcome, now what do you say that we go back." Kayura said as she started to get up, but then quickly came right back down again holding her ankle.  
  
"Kayura, what's wrong?" Kaye asked in concern.  
  
"My ankle." Kayura replied as she winced in pain.  
  
"Here, let me take a look." Kaye said as she looked over the wounded warrior.   
  
"Well doc, what's wrong?" Kayura asked as Kaye moved back and started to tear a piece of her shirt and use it as a bandage.  
  
"Your ankle is to say the least, pretty messed up. It has a deep cut, and it's twisted pretty badly. I'm hoping that this will hold until we get back so Sage can take a look at it." Kaye replied as she finished the bandaging.  
  
"What about her?" Kayura asked as she motioned over to Tigermoon.  
  
"She'll be all right, she just needs rest. Now do you think that you can get us back, or do we have to take the long way?" Kaye asked back with a teasing grin.  
  
Kayura nodded, and then in a blink of an eye they disappeared. Not too far off in the shadows, a sinister figure was watching them. "They're actually working together, I never thought that I would see the day. But I still can sense some mistrust between them that could work in my favor." the sinister figure thought as it disappeared into the darkness. 


	6. ch6

Realm Remix  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"I can't believe she's been gone so long," Kento said as he stared at the sky. He was sitting on the back porch with his chin on his knees, his dark eyes full of concern.  
  
"Well, they are out there in the whole wide universe," Rowen shrugged. He was sitting on the rail of the porch with a faraway look in his bright blue eyes. "They could be in another plane for all we know. They could be anywhere, lost in the infinite--"  
  
"Oh, good, Rowen. Offer him words of comfort, why don't you," Cye deadpanned from the door. "Dinner's ready. Shrimp curry, Ken."  
  
"Really!" Kento looked up hopefully, then his face fell. "I'm not eating with the Warlords."  
  
"Oy," Rowen snorted.  
  
"Oh come on, Kento," Cye pleaded in that way he had. "Be a sport. You can at least tolerate them."  
  
"I can, but I'm not going to. What if Kaye comes back and she's hurt or something? I need to wait for her." Kento turned away and watched the sky. "Could you do me a favor and bring my dinner out here?"  
  
"Cye's right, Ken." Rowen jumped off the rail and started towards the kitchen. "I'll save you some scraps if you're quick." Cye stood watching his friend for a moment before following him in.  
  
Kento sighed as he sat there. From inside the kitchen he could hear Mia ordering people around and the clatter of pots and pans. He realized that he was being a little ridiculous, like a dog waiting pointlessly at the grave of its dead master. Kaye was so capable, she could take care of herself. He didn't need to wait for her to come home -- he knew she always would. He sighed. "What do I expect -- she'll just fall from the sky? I guess I am being kinda--"  
  
"Waaah!" There was a sparkle of silvery light as a large glowing form dropped out of the sky and hit the lawn with a thud. The sparkles died down and resolved into three forms; only one was standing, supporting the other two. "Ow."  
  
"-- People keep proving me wrong, you know that?!" Kento demanded of no one in particular. He jumped up and off the porch, skipping the steps entirely. He raced towards the standing figure on the lawn. "Kaye!"  
  
Kaye blinked and smiled at him, shifting Tigermoon's dead weight a little. "Yeah, why, who else were you expecting?" she joked, supporting Kayura as the smaller woman started sinking to the ground.  
  
Kayura opened one eye blearily as Kaye caught her again. "Note to self -- never transport from high places to low ones," she drawled tiredly. "We fell out of the bloody sky!"  
  
"Yeah, I noticed," Kaye said dryly. "Kento, would you mind helping me out here?" She nodded to Tigermoon, still unconscious, and Kayura, who seemed to have fallen asleep. "I'm feeling the same way myself."  
  
Kento nodded and picked up Kayura. For someone so small and thin-looking, she was actually quite heavy. She weighed almost as much as Cye. As if sensing his thoughts, she opened one eye again. "Muscle weighs more than fat. Put me down, Hardrock, I can walk just fine."  
  
Kento shrugged. "Well, okay." He set her on her feet and she fell over. Kento and Kaye shared a raised-eyebrow look as they gathered up the fallen and started towards the house.  
  
------  
  
Mia had almost finished setting the table when Kento burst in. "Wipe your feet," she stated automatically without looking up. When she did look up, her eyes widened. "Oh, my goodness! Get them on the couches," Mia commanded, dropping the rest of the silverware with a loud clatter. "Sage, come in here!"  
  
"What's going on?" Dais asked in his usual monotone, looking in from the kitchen.  
  
"I have no earthly idea, but Tigermoon and Kayura are hurt," Kaye answered as she followed Kento in. She didn't look in the best of shape either, but she had a triumphant grin on her face. "We got Tigermoon, and we got the staff. A lot of other stuff happened, too."  
  
As soon as he heard that Kayura was hurt, Sekhmet came bolting in from wherever he had been. Unlike the Ronins and their ceremonious movements, he slid into his subarmor without seeming to think about it. The next thing Kento knew, Kayura was out of his arms and into Sekhmet's, a deep green light surrounding both of them.  
  
"He can heal?" Sage demanded of the room in general as he walked in, wearing his subarmor. "Why didn't anybody tell me?"  
  
"You never asked," Kaye said absently, slinging Tigermoon's arms off her shoulders and setting the small girl on the couch. Sage rounded on her. "What, you knew?"  
  
"Of course I knew, soon as he walked in the room," Kaye replied off-handedly. She carefully unpried Tigermoon's fingers from their death grip on the Ancient's staff. The staff was cool now, but oddly not as cold as it had been.  
  
"And here I've been doing all the work," Sage growled as he knelt down next to her. "What happened to you guys? You're covered in dirt."  
  
"Oh, I was kneeling in some dirt when we were looking for tracks." Kaye rubbed her jaw and her hand came away with a little mud on it. "That must have happened when the cliff collapsed."  
  
"Cliff?" Ryo had entered the living room and was staring at her blankly.  
  
"Yes, we were fighting this thing, and then --" Kaye stopped when she realized that she wasn't going to make any kind of sense. "Look, I'll tell you later. Let's just take care of these two." She frowned and sniffed. "Is Mia cooking shrimp curry?"  
  
"Yes, she was," Ryo said as he turned around, "But..."  
  
"But?" Mia asked as she walked back in with a pot of tea.  
  
"But... it's gone." Ryo offered her a sheepish smile as he pointed to the dining room table. There was an empty serving dish in the middle of it that seemed to have been licked clean. Oddly enough, the table seemed to have sprouted a long black-and-white-striped tail that stuck out from underneath it.  
  
"That... TIGER!" Mia shouted as she ran into the dining room. She lifted the tablecloth, and there was White Blaze, licking his chops. "Ryo, get this beast out of here. I've had enough."  
  
"Yes, Mia," he said meekly as he dragged the tiger outside. Mia stalked into the kitchen. Those in the living room could hear her ordering her kitchen crew -- Cye and Dais, the only ones who could be trusted not to explode anything -- to start making sandwiches.  
  
Sage gently let go of Tigermoon and reached out to Kaye. "Sage, I'm fine," she protested as he put his hand on her forehead.  
  
"No, you're not, you've got some scrapes and bruises. Hold still."  
  
"I'm not hurt, what I really need is to clean up." Kaye brushed his hand away, rocked to her feet, and jogged to her bedroom.  
  
Sekhmet set Kayura down as she started to wake up. He wandered over to Tigermoon and looked her over. "What's this?" he asked, pulling a small black feather from her clothing. Sage shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't even been introduced to her." He set the feather on the windowsill and stood up. "Kayura all right?"  
  
"I'm fine," Kayura said.  
  
"Yeah, sure," Kento said from his chair, where he had been sitting quietly. "Last time you said that, you fell over unconscious."  
  
She gave him a look that a harpy would have envied.  
  
----------------  
  
Between Earth and the Netherworld is a small buffer realm, an in-between area with no natural inhabitants or life of its own. Usually, there was no living creature within its tiny sphere of existence. It was like a bridge between two countries. People live in the countries, but they don't live on the bridge. Centuries could pass with no being passing through it. It was a lonely place, but a safe one.  
  
Talpa had once made use of the realm. The demon had stripped whatever power the realm had to make use of for himself, drawing on the energy of the land to power his conquests. He had forgotten it as soon as it was no longer useful for him.  
  
Now, for the past few weeks, the forgotten realm was seeing more changes than it probably ever had in its whole existence. The tattered shreds of its energy networks were slowly pulling together.  
  
In that buffer zone, a lone figure sat in a lonelier marsh. It reached forward and touched the surface of the still water. It swirled with a blue color, as if it was reflecting Earth's blue sky. Then it cleared to reveal the inside of someone's living room. A small, wiry-looking girl lay sleeping on a couch. Her dark brown and purple hair spread out around her.  
  
"She doesn't have the staff. What happened?" the person demanded angrily. They watched the girl for another minute. "Fine. I'll just deal with this myself."  
  
-----------------  
  
Tigermoon groaned as she sat up. "Whoa... um, ow."  
  
"Ow? That was it?" a voice asked her. "No sarcastic comment?"  
  
She crossed her eyes in an attempt to focus on the person who was speaking. "There must be something wrong with my vision," she said finally, "I could have sworn that your hair is blue."  
  
Rowen huffed and sat back down. He shrugged at Cye, who was sitting next to him. "I can't communicate with it. You try."  
  
Cye offered her a sandwich. Tigermoon looked at it, then at him."I beg your pardon. What in the nine hells is that?"  
  
"Peanut butter and lettuce," Cye said apologetically. "Our tiger ate all the groceries."  
  
She gave him a long slow look. Taking the sandwich, she examined it minutely. "What do you do with it?"  
  
"Eat it."  
  
Tigermoon stared at Rowen, as if he had just told her to eat a dead weasel. "No, thank you. I rather like living."  
  
"It's actually not that bad," Kento announced. Tigermoon looked around. The Nine armor bearers, Kayura, the blonde woman, and an auburn-haired woman with an air of authority were all seated around the room. There really was no point in running. Resigning herself to her fate, she handed the sandwich to Kento. "All yours."  
  
"I didn't say I wanted it."  
  
"I'll eat it," Cale announced. Sekhmet grabbed a pillow and hit him with it.  
  
Kaye sighed and helped herself to some more tea. "All right, guys, calm down. We really should introduce ourselves."  
  
Turning to Tigermoon, she said, "My name is Kaye. I think you already know the Warlords and Kayura. These are the Ronin Warriors -- Kento, Sage, Cye, Rowen and Ryo. This is my friend Mia, she owns the house. We already know your name."  
  
"Oh." Tigermoon couldn't really think of anything else to say. "Um. What do you people do for a killer headache?"  
  
"Aspirin." Mia, who always seemed to know what everyone needed, handed her some, and a glass of water. Tigermoon downed them obediently. "Thanks." She leaned her head back, her eyes starting to close again.  
  
Mia glanced out the window. It's getting dark, she realized. Where is everyone going to stay? Biting her lip, she started planning. "Kaye, would you mind sharing your room with Kayura and Tigermoon...?  
  
--------  
  
That night, Tigermoon awoke with a start. She had another start when she didn't recognize her surroundings. She was on a bed, in a room she couldn't remember seeing before. Her breath choked in her throat -- not another nightmare!  
  
Then she heard someone sigh beside her, and she looked down to see a young woman in a sleeping bag. Kaye used her arm as a pillow and a few strands of blond hair were spread across her face. Her face was serene in a broad beam of moonlight that spread across the room. Seeing someone sleeping so peacefully gave Tigermoon a grounding in reality that she really needed.  
  
A rustle at the foot of the bed proved to be Kayura, who was clutching what looked like a very moth-eaten teddy bear. She, too, looked peaceful-- like a very little girl instead of... well, like Kayura.  
  
Tigermoon kicked off the covers and slid carefully off the bed. She wanted to get some air. Thankfully, she could see very well in the dark. Blowing a streaked strand of hair out of her face, she reached for the window and stopped cold.  
  
She saw something out there...  
  
Kaye snapped awake to the sound of shattering glass. 


	7. ch7

Realm Remix  
Ch7  
  
As the mysterious figure smashed through Kaye's window, the sound of screaming could be heard throughout the mansion. "What was that!?" Mia asked in alarm as everyone bolted to the hallway.  
  
"It sounded like whatever it was, came from Kaye's room!" Ryo replied as they ran over there.   
  
"Dammit! The door won't open! Kaye, open the door, Kaye!" Kento shouted as he was pounding on her door.  
  
---------------  
  
"Who are you? What do you want?" Kaye demanded angrily as she glared at who she could make out to be another female.  
  
"What I want is of no concern to you!" the female replied as she glared back while keeping her hold onto Tigermoon's wrist.  
  
"That's where you're wrong, when someone is hurting one of my friends, then it is my concern. Now, I suggest that you let her go." Kaye warned.  
  
"Or what? What can you do to me? As long as I have your friend, you can do nothing." the female taunted with a cold smile.  
  
"She's right, as long as she has Tigermoon, I can't do a damn thing." Kaye thought in anger as she kept her eyes on them.   
  
"I know what you want. Let the child go, and you can have it." Kayura said as she held the Ancient's staff in front of her.   
  
"Child! Who are you calling a child, you old hag!" Tigermoon yelled angrily.   
  
"In case you didn't notice, I'm trying to save your life here." Kayura replied coldly.  
  
"Well, who asked you too?" Tigermoon shot back.   
  
"Why, you little ungrateful..!" Kayura replied angrily as she glared right at Tigermoon. While the two were bickering, the female that was still holding Tigermoon was starting to lose her patients.  
  
"Enough! Will you two stop your useless bickering, and hand over that staff?" the female asked angrily.  
  
Kayura kept her angry glare locked with Tigermoon's, and then lowered her head, "fine, here, take it." she said in defeat as she held out the staff.  
  
Just as the female was going to take the staff from Kayura, Kento and the others finally busted through Kaye's door as the lights were quickly turned on. "Who is that?" Sage asked as they were now staring at the female that was still holding onto Tigermoon. The female stood to be average height, had darkish tan skin tone. Her eyes were a very dark midnight blue, her white hair, even though it was pulled back, it still flowed down the center of her back and to her waist. She wore a golden head band around her forehead. She wore what looked like an authentic black and white kung-fu uniform. She had faded scars that ran up and down both of her arms and legs. Scars that showed that she was a very accomplished fighter.   
  
"Who are you?" Rowen demanded as everyone had their attention towards her.   
  
"I suppose that I could tell you, even though it doesn't really matter, but since you're being so insistant about it. My name is Shiree, and I have came to claim the Ancient's staff." Shiree declared as she tightened her grip on Tigermoon's wrist.   
  
"Why do you want the staff? Why is it so important to you?" Cye asked curiously.  
  
"That's for my information alone, there's no need for any of you to know. Now, are you going to give me the staff, or do I have to inflict more pain?" Shiree asked as Tigermoon winced from the extreme pain shooting from her wrist all the way to her shoulder.  
  
Kayura was about to hand over the staff when suddenly, "Kayura don't!" Kaye said as she suddenly got an idea.  
  
"What! Kaye, I don't believe you! You're actually going to let this psycho get away with this?" Tigermoon asked in disbelief.  
  
"Tigermoon, do you remember what you did in the shop when we met earlier?" Kaye asked with a mischievous grin as she caught her gaze.  
  
"Huh? Oh yea," Tigermoon replied as she smirked. "You know what, it's been fun hanging around with you, literally, but I think that it's time to leave. Bye now." Shiree looked between Tigermoon and Kaye in confusion. what could they be possibly talking about? Just then, Tigermoon space shifted from her present situation, and ended up next to Kaye.   
  
Shiree looked at them in pure anger, and then before she knew it, she was surrounded by the Ronins and the Warlords. "It looks like I've over stayed my welcome. I think that it's time for me to take my leave." Shiree said as a wall of bamboo shoots blocked them from getting to her.   
  
"Is everyone all right?" Ryo asked in concern.  
  
"Looks like it, but my room is a total wreck." Kaye replied as they looked around and saw that shards of glass were embedded all over the walls, while the floor was literally torn apart from the sharp bamboo shoots. And then there was the matter of her door, her door was totally bashed in. While what was left of it that wasn't on the floor, was hanging from top of the frame.   
  
"Now where are we going to sleep?" Tigermoon asked in annoyance. "We can't exactly sleep in there."   
  
"Well, there's always the living room." Kaye replied as she started to walk down the stairs.  
  
"Whoa, wait a minute. There's no way that I'm going to sleep down there." Kayura replied in a huff.  
  
"Fine, then you find somewhere to sleep, I'm going to sleep down here. I don't know about you, but I'm tired and I don't care where I sleep. Just as long as I can finally get some rest." Kaye replied as she settled into Kento's "special chair."   
  
"Actually, the couch does look inviting." Tigermoon said as she laid down on the couch. The others yawned and then said their goodnights and then walked back to their rooms, while Kayura stood there on the landing.  
  
"Kayura, why don't you stop acting like a spoiled child, and just get down here, and go to sleep." Tigermoon said as she glanced over at her.  
  
"Don't patronize me. I'll come down when I'm good and ready." Kayura replied hotly as she crossed her arms.  
  
"Whatever." Tigermoon said as she finally fell asleep. Kayura looked over at Kaye and Tigermoon, she noticed that they were sound asleep. Tigermoon quickly opened one eye and then shifted to make room for her, and then she closed her eye and went back to sleep. Kayura was to say the least surprised by Tigermoon's generosity. She thought that since she and the Warlords gave her nothing but bad times that she wouldn't turn the other cheek, per say. So then Kayura quietly joined Tigermoon on the couch and finally fell asleep.  
  
Meanwhile, back inside of the buffer zone between Earth and the Netherworld. "Shiree, I see that you've failed to acquire the Ancient's staff from them." a small boy said with a smirk. The light of the moon revealed a small boy with fire red hair. His eyes, were almost as red as his hair. He was small for his size, but his speed and fighting abilities made up for it easily.   
  
"Oh just shut up, Doste!" Shiree replied in annoyance. "Let's see if you can do any better."  
  
"It'll be my pleasure, Shiree. Why don't you just sit back and watch how a pro does it. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something." Doste boasted.   
  
"What can you do, Doste? Annoy them by biting at their ankles?" Shiree teased.  
  
"What was that? That had better not be a lame attempt at one of your short jokes, Shiree." Doste asked in annoyance.  
  
"Doste, you wound me. You know that I would never..." Shiree replied as a glint of mischief shone in her eyes.  
  
"No, of course you wouldn't dare to even to such a thing." Doste said as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"All right, that's enough you two. I've had it with your bickering all the time. Now, the two of you put an end to it, or I'll do it for you. Do I make myself clear?" a tall and very muscular elf-like creature warned as he glared at them. They both looked at each other, they knew that when Cosa spoke he meant business. So Doste, and Shiree gave a quick nod and then let the bickering drop.  
  
"Good, now that's settled. Why don't we get back to the matter at hand?" Cosa asked as he started to take control of the conversation.  
  
The next morning...  
  
"Man, what a night." Tigermoon said groggily as she started to slowly get off of the couch and began to stretch.  
  
"Keep it down would you? I'm trying to sleep." Kayura mumbled as she turned over. Tigermoon looked down at her in annoyance, and then a cruel smile crept across her face as she got an idea. Kaye looked over at her with a confused frown on her face. Tigermoon gave a wink and then before she knew it, they both disappeared.   
  
A few seconds later, "AAAHHH! COLD! TIGERMOON, GET BACK HERE!" Kayura yelled from the top of her lungs at her. Kayura's yelling made everyone else that was still in the mansion run to the nearest window to see what was going on. Everyone except for Sekhmet were laughing at the sight of a very drenched Kayura chasing a laughing Tigermoon.   
  
As the chase continued, the others turned away from the windows and went along their business. "Morning Kaye, how did you sleep last night?" Kento asked as he slipped his arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Actually Kento, I slept pretty well. I can see why you like that chair so much," Kaye replied with a teasing smile. "Maybe now it'll be my "special chair."   
  
Just before Kento could give a reply, "what in the world?" Ryo asked as he stared at the sky.   
  
"Ryo, what is it?" Sage asked as he joined him. Ryo motioned to the sky. "What the..?"  
  
"Ryo, Sage, what are you two staring at?" Rowen trailed off as he now noticed what was happening to the sky.  
  
The others gave confused looks, they were wondering what could have those three so mesmerized. So they've decided to go and see for themselves. When they got there, they noticed what got their attention. "No way." Cye said in awe as they walked outside.   
  
"Hey, what are you guys looking at?" Tigermoon asked as she and Kayura were done chasing each other. Instead of getting a verbal response, she looked up and saw what they were all now seeing. The sky was showing different fragments of the many different realms that were crossing each other. At the center of all of the crossings was a grayish hole that had lightning bolts going around the outside. Also at the center were three people hovering in the center of it.  
  
"What? Didn't you think that I would be back? And look, I've brought some friends with me, they're dying to meet you." Shiree said with an evil grin.  
  
"Shiree?" Cosa asked.  
  
"Yes, Cosa." Shiree replied.  
  
"Which ones hurt my pet?" Cosa asked as he looked down.  
  
"They're the ones, Cosa." Shiree replied as she motioned over to Kaye, Tigermoon, and Kayura.  
  
"OOh, you're in for it now. No one hurts Cosa's pet." Doste taunted.  
  
"Pet! That thing was no pet, it was an abomination!" Kaye replied as she and the others called upon their sub armor.   
  
Cosa's blood began to boil, literally, because steam was emitting from his body, and his eyes became cold and unforgiving. "You will pay for hurting my pet!" Cosa yelled angrily, as a bright light came from behind the three that were hovering in the center of the grayish hole, and headed straight for them. They had to cover their eyes because of the brightness, then when the light was gone, the sky returned back to normal.   
  
"They're gone, they're all gone." Mia thought in surprise as she looked around and noticed that only she and White Blaze were left standing. 


	8. ch8

Realm Remix   
  
Chapter 8   
  
"Cosa, for crying out loud, it was just an animal. You're overreacting."   
  
He turned and glared at Shiree with a look that would have blistered paint. "Sparkles is not 'just' an animal, he's a pet! MY pet! And I am NOT overreacting!"   
  
Shiree gave him a deadpan look as she sat down next to him. Even sitting, she had the appearance of coiled energy, like a spring ready to pop up. "Sparkles?" she repeated flatly. "And yes, you are over-reacting. Let the water alone. You're boiling those fish." With a savage scowl, Cosa took his hand out of the pond.   
  
"You guys screwed up," Doste announced cheerfully. "So tell me, how exactly are you going to contain ten armor bearers, Lady Kayura and the Tigermoon brat in this little buffer zone? They'll rip the place apart." Doste paused, and added grudgingly, "At least you knew better than to pick up the tiger, too..."   
  
Shiree pointed to Cosa, "Start thinking fast, my friend."   
  
---   
  
"I'll tear this place apart!"   
  
"Kento, calm down, you're not going to get anywhere doing that!" Cye tackled his friend, and despite their size difference, brought him down. "Somebody help me here?" he pleaded.   
  
The Ronins and Warlords were trapped inside the stone hallway that Tigermoon had visited. Weak tendrils of energy crackled along the ceiling. Pointlessly, Cale kicked a wall.   
  
Obligingly, Kayura came to Cye's aid. She sat on Kento's back, like a couch. Crossing her booted legs, she looked around the hall. "Weird place," she commented.   
  
Rowen opened his mouth. Sage shut it for him. "No comments about their interior decorator, Rowen. It was funny the first time, but it's kind of old now..."   
  
"I've been here before," Tigermoon stated. She was sitting with her chin on her knees, her back against one of the stone walls. "Except, I had the staff with me then. And I don't now."   
  
"Yeah, where is the staff, anyway?" Dais asked with a frown. Kaye looked around, startled. "Didn't Kayura have it?"   
  
"No, I thought you did, Kaye."   
  
"What would I be doing with your staff? Oh, no," Kaye said as she slapped her forehead. "We left it back at the house."   
  
"Oops," Kayura said sheepishly. "Well, Mia and White Blaze will look after it, won't they?"   
  
"They don't have any powers," Ryo reminded her impatiently. "Oh, man, if these creeps find out that we don't have the staff, they'll go after Mia."   
  
Everybody winced at the thought. Not only was Mia relatively defenseless, who knows what would happen when their captors got their hands on the staff. "Let's pretend we do have it," Cale suggested haphazardly. Sekhmet slapped him upside the head. "Ow! What?"   
  
"Aren't we a few centuries old for that, Cale?"   
  
"No?"   
  
Sekhmet sighed, rubbed his forehead, and went off to sit in a corner.   
  
"Well, you guys can sit around and argue, but I'm going to try to get us out of here," Kento decided. He stood off from the main group and set his hands together.   
  
"Armor of Hardrock, Dao Gi..."   
  
A flash of orange light bounced off the walls and slammed him in the forehead. Kento fell backwards into Kaye's arms. "Oh, man, are you all right?" she asked him worriedly.   
  
"I'm fine, but where's the armor?" he asked confusedly.   
  
Kayura got up and started pacing the walls, rapping them with her gloved knuckle. She was wearing her old armor, which was light and easy to carry -- her trademark dark boots and leotard-like outfit. With a frown, she tried to call Anubis's subarmor to her. There was a crackle of yellow light as his symbol lit up on her forehead, but nothing else.   
  
"We're blocked in," she said, nodding. "This is a sort of stasis field that prevents us from calling our armors or using our powers."   
  
"Oh, it took you that long to find out?" Rowen asked sarcastically. "I mean, you could have done it before Kento ended up on the floor."   
  
"Well, I notice you weren't sounding the place out, either," Dais shot back. "I have no idea how you Ronins ever beat us."   
  
"Dumb luck," Cale offered.   
  
Sage stood up, fists clenched. "Say that again, Cale..."   
  
"Dumb luck?"   
  
"Guys, stop it," Kaye shouted above the growing argument. "We're never going to get out of here if we kill each other off." Uneasily, everyone sat down again. Tigermoon had pressed herself against a wall when it looked like a fight was going to break out. She didn't know whose side she would have to take. Now, she moved closer to Kaye, who seemed sensibly neutral.   
  
"Can you get out of here?" Kayura asked abruptly, turning to Tigermoon. The girl looked up and vanished. A second later, she reappeared and slammed against the wall as if she had been thrown there. Blinking groggily, she rubbed her head. "Uh... I don't think so."   
  
----------------   
  
"I don't think that hall will last much longer," Doste put in, wandering over to the other two, who were conversing quietly. "They'll break out of it soon."   
  
Shiree held up an annoyed hand. "Don't interrupt us! The hall isn't invincible, but nothing's going to happen with THAT group. They're so much at odds that it's ridiculous. With any luck they'll all throttle each other, and we'll be free of them. Why don't you go concentrate on finding the staff, and we grownups will do the real work?" She said this with the air of an adult offering a child a game to distract them.   
  
Doste's eyes narrowed. "Fine." The other two went back to whatever they had been talking about. "I'll just go do that," he added. The other two paid no attention. "Idiots," Doste muttered, and vanished.   
  
----------------   
  
Back at the house, Mia was still in a state of shock. It was only when Mia heard a faint jingle, like windchimes, that she snapped out of it. White Blaze roared in fury and charged towards the house. The door was shut, so the tiger leaped through a window, the glass shattering like water around his muscular frame.   
  
The wild jangling of the rings on the Ancient's staff set off the ear-splitting din of crashing glass. White Blaze landed on the floor, his big pads cut and slashed from the broken glass. With a deep growl, he lunged into the hallway, where Kayura had left the staff. White Blaze grabbed the staff in his mouth and whirled about.   
  
Doste stood there, smirking. "Nice kitty. Do you want to play fetch?"   
  
White Blaze growled, a low and dangerous growl. The rings on the staff continued to ring a warning.   
  
Mia ran up to the house, frantically trying to open the door. Doste snapped his fingers and the lock slid shut. Mia pounded on the door, but it was no use. Panting, she ran up to the broken window, put her palms on the sill, and hoisted herself inside.   
  
She broke the rest of the glass on the way in. Doste turned at the sound and saw her kneeling on the floor, her knees cut and bleeding. Unsteadily, Mia got to her feet, with no idea what to do.   
  
White Blaze lunged forward, knocking Doste over on the way. The tiger dropped the staff at Mia's feet and whirled to stand at her side, growling softly. Doste looked at them with a calculating look that sent shivers down Mia's spine.   
  
Oh, man, Mia thought. I wish I had Kaye and the boys here. Well, I can be brave without them, can't I?   
  
"You're just a boy," she said, more steadily than she felt. "What do you want?"   
  
"That," he said casually, pointing at the staff.   
  
White Blaze snarled and stalked forward. "Be right back," Doste said cheerfully, and vanished.   
  
--------------------------   
"Cosa, I need help," Doste announced as he interrupted their conversation again. "It's about an animal."   
  
Shiree glared at him. "Look, we're really busy!"   
  
Doste glared back at her. "Ninety-nine bottles of sake on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of sake, you take one down and you pass it around..."   
  
Shiree clapped her hands over her ears. "All right, all right! Cosa, go with him!"   
  
"A curse on that meddler," she spat when they'd gone.   
  
-------------------------   
  
Mia sank onto the floor, ignoring the fresh cuts she recieved from the glass. "I really can't deal with this," she told White Blaze. "And why do people keep breaking windows around here? I'm beginning to see a pattern."   
  
The janglings of the rings warned her that she had another visitor. White Blaze pulled his lips back from his teeth and snarled, then looked puzzled. His defensive growl turned into a questioning noise.   
  
The Ancient's staff was heavy, but Kaye had been teaching her a few moves with polearms. Nothing really fancy, just basic stances, strength, coordination, attack and defense. Mia got into a stance as two forms solidified this time. She spun the staff so the point end was leveled between her attackers.   
  
"I bet I can guess what you two want."   
  
---------------------------------   
  
The Ronins and Warlords were at it again.   
  
After sounding out the room and realizing that there was no ready escape, the opposite groups had chosen opposite sides of the hall, and were pointedly ignoring the others. The only ones who weren't were the three females, who were in the middle of the hall. Unexpectedly, Kaye had found a tiny souvenir pack of cards in her wallet, so they had a card game going. There really wasn't anything else they could do, when every time they tried a different way to break out, their attack hit them back with double force.   
  
The women felt slightly bonded since the experience finding the staff and when Shiree had come in their window. And since none of the Ronins or Warlords felt like playing Go Fish, they had no other partners but each other anyway.   
  
"Tigermoon. Do you have any sevens?" Kayura asked brightly. She was winning, having one pair more than Kaye and two pairs more than Tigermoon.   
  
"Go fish," Tigermoon sighed dolefully. "Kaye, do you have any threes?"   
  
Kaye shook her head, grinning. "Nope, sorry. Kayura, hand over the ace."   
  
Kayura muttered something as she handed over the card.   
  
"Thanks, Kayura. Can I have your king?"   
  
Kayura handed it over grudgingly, as if parting with the card was causing her physical pain.   
  
"Got any eights?" Kaye asked cheerfully.   
  
"No, for the love of the Ancient! Let me alone already! Tigermoon, got any queens?"   
  
"No, but you can have this king," Tigermoon offered helpfully. Kayura looked at it. "Um, thanks, but no thanks."   
  
"Well, I don't want him, he's ugly."   
  
Kaye sighed. "Look, Tigermoon, I keep telling you. It doesn't matter what the cards look like, it matters how many pairs you get."   
  
"But he's so... ugly!" Tigermoon insisted, certain of her logic.   
  
There was a sudden commotion as the room as flecks of multicolored light appeared. Kanjis lit up everywhere -- red Virtue, orange Justice, green Wisdom, light blue Trust, indgo Life, deep green Piety, violet Serenity, dark red Obedience. Kayura's forehead lit up with her borrowed symbol of Loyalty. Tigermoon held up her hand in surprise, looking at the flickering aura of dark purple light around it.   
  
Kaye touched her silvery-blue symbol as it lit up as well. "Oh, no," she whispered. "Guys, I think Mia's in deep trouble." 


	9. ch9

Realm Remix  
  
Ch9  
  
In Mia's yard...  
  
"You're a very clever mortal, you know that we want the Ancient's staff," Cosa said as he held out his hand. "So hand it over."  
  
"Sorry, but I don't think so." Mia replied as she stood her ground, while White Blaze stayed right next to her.  
  
"We can either do this the hard way, or the easy way. The choice is yours." Doste offered. Mia stood up from her defensive position, and at the same time, edged closer to the tiger. Then very quickly, Mia mounted onto the tiger, and White Blaze started running.  
  
"Why do they always choose the hard way?" Coas asked, as he got ready to go after them.  
  
Elsewhere...  
  
"Does everyone understand what they have to do," Ryo asked as he looked around the hall at everyone. "Otherwise, it's not going to work."  
  
"We know what to do, Wildfire, you just worry about your part of the plan." Sekhmet replied as he gave a quick nod to Dais.  
  
"What do you expect us to do about it, dream walker? In case you've forgotten, we're trapped here, wherever here is." Dais asked in annoyance.  
  
"I don't know, but I'm not just going to sit around and do nothing." Kaye replied as she glared at him.  
  
"What's with all of the commotion in here? With all of your yelling going on, you could very easily wake the dead." Shiree asked as she walked over to them.  
  
"What's it to you? It's your fault that we're stuck in here with these weaklings." Cale sneered.  
  
"Weaklings?! I dare you to say that again, Cale!" Sage shot back angrily.  
  
"Boys, boys, you know, there's an easy way to resolve this." Shiree said with a glint of mischief in her eyes.  
  
"Oh really, and what do you propose?" Cale asked as he crossed his arms.  
  
"Whatever she has in mind, I can bet that it's not good." Sage replied.  
  
"You state the obvious, Halo. Now, unless you want to be in there for the rest of your life, then I would suggest that you shut your mouth and listen." Shiree said as a cruel smile crossed her face. Sage didn't give a response; he just glared at her in anger. Then with a snap of her fingers the stasis field disappeared.   
  
"Now Shiree, since you have our undivided attention, what's your proposal?" Sekhmet asked as they were all watching her.  
  
"I'm being generous by giving you all a sporting chance." Shiree replied as she looked at each of them.  
  
"You're not making sense. What do you mean by a sporting chance? A sporting chance to do what?" Tigermoon asked curiously.  
  
"Why, to fight for your lives of course." Shiree replied as she again snapped her fingers and this time five very large creatures appeared out of nowhere.  
  
"I'm sorry that I asked." Tigermoon said, as she and the others got ready to fight.  
  
Back with Mia and White Blaze...  
  
"You know, this would be much easier if you would just hand over the staff." Cosa said as he was gaining on them.  
  
"What do they want with the staff anyway? Why is it so important to them? Don't they realize that Kayura is the only one that can work this thing," Mia thought as she hung onto White Blaze a little tighter. Just then the staff for some unknown reason, started to react. "Why now? Does this mean that they're coming back?"  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"What? I can feel the staff, then that means." Kayura said as she dodged an attack.   
  
"Kayura, what are you talking about?" Sekhmet asked as he covered her back.  
  
"I can feel the staff, so I'm going to go and help Mia." Kayura replied, as she got ready to teleport.  
  
"Then go, we'll hold them off here." Cale said as Kayura teleported to where Mia and White Blaze are.  
  
Jumping back to Mia and White Blaze...  
  
"You will hand over that staff, now!" Cosa said as he cut them off.  
  
"Forget it! I'll never hand it over to the likes of you!" Mia replied angrily.  
  
Just as Cosa was about to attack, Kayura appeared between Mia and Cosa. "Took your sweet time." Mia said as she glanced over at her.  
  
"Sorry, but I was kind of detained for a while." Kayura replied as she faced off with Cosa.   
  
"How did you get out?" Doste asked as he finally caught up with them.  
  
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out. Now if you don't mind, I would suggest that you both leave. Unless of course, you want to feel the cries of the stars." Kayura warned, as she got ready to strike at them with her sure-kill.   
  
"Doste, I believe that it's time for us to leave." Cosa said as he stood down.  
  
"What! Cosa, you can't be serious! What about the staff?" Doste asked in disbelief.  
  
"I said that we're leaving!" Cosa replied as he took Doste by his collar and disappeared.   
  
As soon as they were gone, Kayura turned around and faced Mia. "Are you all right?" Kayura asked.  
  
"Yea, just fine. Here, I believe that this is yours." Mia replied as she handed over the staff to her.  
  
"Thanks." Kayura said as she took it from her.  
  
"Kayura, where are the others?" Mia asked in concern.  
  
"They're still back where I came from." Kayura replied.  
  
"Can't you bring them back here?" Mia asked in worry.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm not exactly sure where they are, so I can't bring them back." Kayura replied as she looked up into the sky.  
  
"You mean that they're on their own?" Mia asked as she too looked up.  
  
Back at the fight...  
  
"What the heck is going on here? It's like whenever we try and make contact, they disintigrate and then they become solid again." Rowen asked as he shot off a few more arrows.  
  
"What's the matter? Are they too much for you," Shiree taunted with a cold smile. "You know, you could always make it easier on yourselves, and just give up."  
  
"No way! You can just forget about that! We don't give up that easily!" Ryo replied angrily.   
  
"I thought that you would say something like that. What do you say that we make things a little more interesting, hmm?" Shiree asked coldly.  
  
Just then a scream filled the room making everyone turn around to see that Kaye and Dais were trying to struggle out of the creature's grip. "Let go of me! I said, let go!" Kaye demanded angrily.  
  
"Kaye!" Kento exclaimed.   
  
"Kento!" Kaye called back.  
  
"Dais!" Cale yelled.  
  
"Get us down!" Dais yelled back.  
  
"Let them go!" Cye yelled angrily at Shiree as he started towards her.   
  
Shiree just laughed at his demand, "take one more step, Torrent, and that goes for all of you as well. I'll make sure that they'll feel pain like they've never felt before," Shiree warned as she looked at them. "Now, will you surrender, and finally admit defeat?"  
  
"No guys! Don't do it! Don't...AAAHHH!" as Kaye and Dais yelled in extreme pain.  
  
"Stop it! That's enough," Ryo yelled angrily as he put away his swords. The others looked towards Ryo, and then followed suit. "Now, let them go!"  
  
"Ah, I don't think so." Shiree replied as with a flick of her wrist made the creature that was still holding Kaye and Dais disappear.  
  
"Where did they go? Bring them back!" Sage yelled angrily.  
  
"I wouldn't be concerned about them, if I were you, I would be more concerned about yourselves,"   
  
Shiree replied as she glanced at the three remaining creatures. "Take them."  
  
"Everyone, scatter!" Rowen yelled out as he started to dodge. Someone from behind Rowen screamed, he turned around and saw the Tigermoon was being lifted up from the ground. He was about to shoot off an arrow, when out of nowhere he too was grabbed. Then they've quickly disappeared.  
  
"Aw man, first Kaye, and now Rowen. It's like she's trying to pick us off one by one!" Kento said angrily.  
  
"Hey Hardrock, don't forget that Dais and Tigermoon are gone too." Sekhmet replied angrily.  
  
"I know that, you don't have to remind me," Kento replied. "Hey!"   
  
"Hardrock," Sekhmet said as he saw that the creature grabbed Kento. "What the?"  
  
"Sekhmet!" Cale called out as he tried to free his comrade, but he found himself caught in the process.   
  
"It looks like I have to save your sorry butt." Sage said as he striked at the creature. Just as he was about to deliver his second blow, the creature grabbed him from behind.  
  
"You call that a save? Thanks a lot." Cale said as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"Just shut up." Sage replied as they too disappeared.  
  
"Now that leaves two." Shiree mused with a taunting smile as she watched the remaining two try to avoid getting caught.  
  
"Ryo, what are we going to do? Everyone's gone, and we don't even know where." Cye said as he jumped out of the way.  
  
"I don't know, Cye, I honestly don't know." Ryo replied as he ducked out of the way. 


	10. ch10

"Well, heroes, it looks like it's down to you and me." Shiree spread her hands and smiled viciously. "I wonder what's going to happen now."  
  
"Cye, get back to back," Ryo ordered, tensing. He wondered what this woman was up to. "If you see another creature..."  
  
"Oh, don't worry about the creatures," Shiree interrupted, that strange smile still on her face. "Worry about this." She raised her hand palm upward, then relaxed with a triumphant smile.  
  
There was a pause. "Worry about what?" Cye asked, curious despite himself.  
  
Shiree sighed long-sufferingly. "That," she said, pointing behind him. Ryo took a step back and half turned, keeping his focus on Shiree, but able to look back over his shoulder. His eyes widened. "Cye, get back!"  
  
------------------------------  
  
Back at the Koji house, Kayura looked on in complete confusion as Mia dashed around the house. "Mia-san, I mean no disrespect, but just what on Earth are you doing?"  
  
"We have to find them!" Mia stopped leafing wildly through books and looked at Kayura strangely. "You're not going to just stand there while they're in danger, are you? The Ronins would come for me. Now somebody has to come for them."  
  
"Yes, but Mia, what can you possibly do? Er, no offense." Kayura flinched slightly at the annoyed look the taller woman flashed her.  
  
Mia held up a floppy disk with a triumphant smile. "I can find out what's going on."  
  
-----------------  
  
"Whoa... where am I?" Rowen asked groggily as he opened his eyes.  
  
"Have you ever noticed that's the first thing people say when they come to?" a voice replied brightly from somewhere in the darkness. "It's always 'what happened?' or 'where am I?' They never pause to think that maybe the person they're asking doesn't have a clue either."  
  
Rowen winced at the cheerful, vaguely familiar voice. "Uh, that's Tigermoon, right?"  
  
"Yes, it's me. And no, before you ask, I don't know what happened, where we are or what your name is," she replied from wherever she was. She started humming a little tune he didn't recognize.  
  
Rowen decided not to bother asking anything else, this person was just going to give him some incoherent answer he stood no chance of understanding with his headache. He sat up, surprised that he could move, since even breathing was a very painful experience. "I think I broke a rib," he croaked, adding a swear he picked up at an airport.  
  
Tigermoon stopped humming in some surprise. "Never heard that before," she said in interest. "You're armor's gone, isn't it," she added in an entirely different tone.  
  
Rowen swore again as he brushed his fingers down the very un-armor-like cloth of his t-shirt. "That's never a good sign."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Found anything?" Kayura asked impatiently, leaning over Mia's shoulder.  
  
The woman looked up from her computer. "Please stop hanging over me. It's distracting, and your hair keeps slipping into my face." Mia swatted aside Kayura's dark hair as she focused intently on the computer screen. "Why don't you go outside and keep an eye on that distortion in the sky," she suggested, more to get Kayura out of her way than anything else.  
  
The last of the Ancients sighed heavily, spinning on her heel. "All right, call me if you need any help," she called as she left.  
  
"Sure I will," Mia sighed under her breath, rolling her eyes. Kayura could do a lot of things, but hacking into old computer encryptions was not one of them.  
  
Mia sighed and took a swig of chai as she typed in some keywords. It wasn't likely that her grandfather had any information on energy distortions, but it was worth trying.  
  
Suddenly she sat forward and blinked. In response to her search, a single listing had come up, from a folder in her grandfather's database she hadn't known existed. Mia typed in the DOS command for the file and the archaic document opened. There were only a few lines in it.  
  
"Legends seem to indicate that between the mythic Nether World and ours, there was a buffer realm acting like a hallway between two rooms. However, around the year 900, all myths relating to this world ceased... as if the realm had been 'lost' to history..."  
  
Hadn't Talpa started his conquest around the year 900? Mia finished off her chai as a few scattered jigsaw pieces started rattling in her mind. Well, she was lucky today. She had a genuine person from the Netherworld right in her home. It wouldn't be too hard to ask.  
  
"Kayura!" she called out, leaping from her chair. "I think I found something..."  
  
-------------------------  
  
Kaye groaned as she came to. She checked herself quickly for broken bones, finding herself whole except for a long, nasty gouge down her arm. She was in a tiny, dim room with barely enough light for her eyes to pick out shapes. There weren't really any shapes to see, just a crumpled-looking figure next to her.  
  
Kaye knelt down next to Dais's body and looked him over. His armor had vanished, leaving him in some ancient-style clothes that looked like a karate gi. The creature's claws had left her relatively unhurt, but Dais was breathing strangely and there was a series of diagonal slashes down his chest.  
  
Kaye sat back, wondering what to do. There wasn't enough light for her to see the damage and she didn't want to just leave him there. Touching her finger to her forehead, she attempted to summon her kanji so that its aura would give her some light. Before her symbol could react, there was a sudden flash of light as the cell door opened.  
  
"I'm sorry about this, little tigress," a voice said behind her. Kaye whirled and looked up into the facemask of a very familiar helmet. It was orange, with a heavy jawline, a purple crest on top, and lopsided horns on either side. However, the eyes behind the mask were not a deep warm indigo. They were a strange, half-wild golden green.  
  
"But remember," said the voice of the person who was not Kento of Hardrock, "You did pick the hard way."  
  
------------------------------------  
  
"That's right," Kayura said excitedly. "The lost realm! I remember hearing about that..." She trailed off and looked into the distance, her eyes clouded painfully, as if her memories were not good.  
  
"What did you hear?" Mia asked, absently ruffling the fur on White Blaze's head.  
  
Kayura heaved a huge sigh. "Talpa completely stripped the realm of its power to fuel all sorts of projects. Lava pits. Netherspirits. Gates. Brainwashing." She fiddled with the end of her ponytail, avoiding Mia's gaze. "I'm pretty sure he used all the inhabitants the same way he used the ones here. Herded them into towers and burned off their energy. That was a long time ago."  
  
"Well, then, that's our lead," Mia said, sitting back. "I just don't know what to make of it."  
  
------------------------------------  
  
"You have the advantage of my name," Kaye said evenly. "But I don't know who you are."  
  
"I am Hardrock."  
  
"No, you aren't," Kaye said, shaking her head, eyes wide.  
  
"Very well... I'm Cosa. I do believe we've met," he said, pulling off Kento's helmet.  
  
"What did you do to Kento?" Kaye whispered, taking a step back.  
  
"I don't need to answer that," Cosa said, hefting the massive naginata. "It would only... upset you."  
  
"I suppose you're here for our armors," she said casually, fighting down a wave of nausea. "Supposing I did give mine to you. What would happen then?"  
  
Cosa blinked at her, grip relaxing on the iron naginata. "We would spare your life."  
  
-----------------------  
  
Back in the cell with Tigermoon and Rowen...  
  
"Lest new flamingos be begot  
  
Like llamas in the rain.  
  
Like llamas in the rain, my friends, like llamas in the raaaaaaaaiiiin...."  
  
Rowen whimpered, clutching his forehead, as Tigermoon sang cheerfully to herself in the corner. Why couldn't he have been stuck in a cold, dark, damp cell with someone moderately sane, like Sage? At this point, he would settle for anyone -- even Talpa. Tigermoon abruptly grew bored with her song and started a new one. Rowen tried very hard not to listen, by stuffing his fists in his ears and humming, but some of the words carried through. It seemed to feature a python, a pillowcase and several large birds.  
  
The girl paused in her song as she struggled to think of a rhyme for "owl." "Tigermoon?" he asked quickly.  
  
"Owl, cowl, dowel... hmn?"  
  
"Why are you doing this to me?"  
  
"Singing?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh. It's habit I guess. When I was in the Dynasty, and I did something wrong, Badamon used to lock me in the shower stall in the dungeon bathroom of the north tower. Don't ask me why the dungeon was in the tower, I worked there for centuries, never figured it out myself."  
  
"You had shower stalls in the Dynasty?" Rowen blurted before he could stop himself.  
  
"Of course, where else would we wash up, the lava pits?" Tigermoon replied severely. "Anyway, he used to put a few netherspirits on guard in case I tried to space shift... downright annoying those things are, with all the flutes and the awful music..." she trailed off into annoyed mumbling before picking up the topic again. "So I used to sing at them... drove 'em wild, that did..." she trailed off again, laughing to herself.  
  
"I can see why," Rowen muttered, plugging up his ears again. He unplugged them when another question struck him. "You're how old?"  
  
"Er... four hundred fifteen this July."  
  
"Ah," Rowen said blankly, having nothing else to say.  
  
-------------------------  
  
"Not a very good deal." Kaye leaned against the wall. "You underestimate me. What's in this so-called deal for me?"  
  
Cosa's eyes turned crafty as he looked at the woman. She looked back at him coolly. "You want to join us...?"  
  
"Only if it's worth my time." Kaye bit her lip as she forced her gaze to remain even. "What are you planning to do?"  
  
"We're going to take our own back," Cosa snapped with narrowed eyes. "Talpa ruined this place. The whole realm is falling apart -- we thought we would die with it. Then you people came on the scene." He shot an utterly disgusted look at her. Kaye put her hands behind her back and refrained from strangling him. "That staff had enough power to piece it back together, but you're all so protective of it... Then Doste came up with the only good idea he's ever had. Why don't we just take your armors? There's enough energy in them to resurrect this place."  
  
"Oh," Kaye said queasily.  
  
"So will you give up your armor, or do I take it from you, like I did to Hardrock?"  
  
Kaye's breathing changed as her fingernails dug into her palms. "Go away. Let me think."  
  
Cosa bowed in a very exaggerated way and left. The heavy door slammed behind him, leaving her in darkness.  
  
"That bastard," Kaye said very softly.  
  
"Classic villain," a voice croaked behind her. "... idiots, all of them..."  
  
Kaye jumped as she turned around. "Dais?"  
  
"Just look at them cross-eyed and they instantly dump their evil plans on you. Always. You know, it makes the real villains look quite bad," he said, struggling to sit up.  
  
Kaye lit her kanji and watched as the Warlord tugged his eyepatch into place. "You were listening?"  
  
"You learn a lot about people when they think you're out of it," he stated, looking annoyed at the wounds across his chest. "I suppose now you're going to find Hardrock?"  
  
"You bet," she replied cheerfully, bending down to help him up. "And you're coming with me." 


	11. ch11

Realm Remix  
  
Ch 11  
  
"What the heck is that!?" Cye asked as something with a pale complexion that wore a long pale green jacket with black pants.   
  
"This," Shiree asked back with a grin. "This is Siren, he's what's left of the few of the elite guardians for this so called realm."   
  
"What would you like me to do with them, mistress?" Siren asked as he looked at them.  
  
"Do whatever your heart desires, Siren, but make sure to bring me their armors when you're done." Shiree replied as she gave a cold grin and then disappeared.  
  
"You know, it's been a very long time since I've actually had someone to fight. Let's see how good the two of you really are." Siren said as he tipped his head to both sides, making his neck crack.   
  
"Flare up now!" Ryo said as he called upon his sure-kill and directed it right towards Siren.  
  
"Super wave smasher!" Cye replied as he followed suit.  
  
Just as both sure-kill were about to strike, Siren phased into a gaseous state, making both attacks go right through him, and then he solidified back again. "Is that all you've got?   
  
Because if it is, then this will be a very short fight." Siren said as he started to approach them.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Out of all the people, I had to be stuck here with you." Cale said in disgust as he glanced over at Sage.  
  
"Yea, well, I'm not too thrilled about this either, Cale." Sage replied hotly.  
  
"So, do you have any ideas of how to get out of here, Halo?" Cale asked in annoyance.  
  
"Not at the moment." Sage replied as he crossed his arm.  
  
"Oh that's just great, and I suppose that you can't call upon your armor." Cale said as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"Actually, no I can't. And I'm guessing that neither can you." Sage replied.  
  
"No, Cosa took mine before he got yours." Cale grumbled as he crossed his arms.  
  
"This is just great, neither of us has our armor, and we don't even know where the heck we are." Sage said in annoyance.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Mmmnnn, what happened?" Kento asked groggily as he was starting to come around.  
  
"It's about time that you woke up." Sekhmet replied as he watched Kento try to sit up.  
  
"On second thought, don't tell me, I remember. AAhh." Kento hissed as he grabbed onto his side.  
  
"I can't believe that I'm going to say this, but if you want, I can heal you." Sekhmet offered.  
  
"No way, you'll try and poison me or something," Kento replied as he glared at him. "Besides, I'm sure that neither of us has our armor, and how can you heal without that?"   
  
"I'm not like your friend, Halo, I don't need my armor in order to heal someone," Sekhmet said as he crossed his arms. "So then I take it that you don't want my help."  
  
"I'll manage," Kento replied as he found an old cloth and tied it around his side. "Do you know where we are?"  
  
"I've heard stories of this place, people called it the lost realm." Sekhmet replied as he uncrossed his arms.   
  
"What else did they say about this lost realm?" Kento asked as he stole a glance towards him.   
  
"Since when were you ever interested in legends?" Sekhmet asked back.  
  
"Since I know that neither of us are going anywhere any time soon. So start talking." Kento replied. Sekhmet gave a nod and then he started to fill Kento in about the lost realm.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Hey blue, blue?" Tigermoon asked as she was trying to get his attention.   
  
"My name isn't blue, it's Rowen." Rowen replied as he looked over to her.  
  
"Sorry, ok Rowen." Tigermoon said as she held up her hands in protest.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just..." Rowen replied as he winced a little bit.  
  
"Your rib still hurts, you know what, if you want, I can take a look at it for you." Tigermoon said as she looked back at him.  
  
"No, you don't have to do that." Rowen replied quickly.  
  
"Will you stop playing the role of Mr. macho, and let me help you?" Tigermoon asked as she was starting to get just a little annoyed.  
  
"If anyone is playing, it's you." Rowen replied as he looked towards her.  
  
"Playing, playing what? I don't see any games around do you, and in case you didn't notice, blue, this is no game." Tigermoon shot back.  
  
"Don't you think that I know that? And what's with this crazy mentality of yours?" Rowen asked in a slightly harsh way.  
  
"Crazy mentality! Of all the...look, how do you think that you'd turn out if you were trapped in the Dynasty for a couple of hundred of years? Huh, would you have been able to keep it together, especially when you're constantly being watched? Do you have any idea of what it's like day in and day out, trying to figure out what real freedom is? I was free for a while before Badamon and his nether spirits decided to capture me. For what reason, heck, I don't know. Now think about that, and then tell me about crazy mentality." Tigermoon shot back angrily.  
  
Rowen was starting to feel a little guilty about what he said to Tigermoon. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone off on you like that." Rowen said.  
  
"And?" Tigermoon coaxed.  
  
"And, I'm sorry that you had such a rough life, I shouldn't have judged you so quickly. I'm not usually like that." Rowen replied as he looked apologetically towards her.  
  
"I suppose that I could let it slide, but on one condition." Tigermoon said as she raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Oh yea, and what is that?" Rowen asked.  
  
"You stop being so stubborn, and let me bandage up your rib." Tigermoon replied.   
  
"Deal," Rowen said as Tigermoon started to wrap Rowen's rib. "I am curious about one more thing."   
  
"Yea, and what's that?" Tigermoon asked as she tied off Rowen's bandage.  
  
"That space shift thing that you do, are you able to do it now?" Rowen asked with a small smile.   
  
"Let's find out" Tigermoon replied as she returned a smile.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Dais, I thought that you said that you were good at this type of thing?" Kaye asked as Dais was trying to pick the lock to their cell.  
  
"Hey, don't rush me, it's been a while since I've had to do this. Besides, it would be much faster if you just dawned your armor and blasted our way out of here." Dais replied as he took a quick look back.  
  
"That'll draw too much attention to us, and that's one thing that we don't need right now." Kaye said as she started to get just a little annoyed.  
  
"Fine, then don't rush me. I've just about...got it!" Dais replied as the door to their cell came open.  
  
"Dais, I'm impressed. Come on let's get a move on, I don't know about you, but I don't want to be around when Cosa comes back and finds out that were gone." Kaye said as she was about to help Dais to walk.  
  
"No need for you to help me, I can walk just fine." Dais replied as he started to walk away from their cell.  
  
"So I see, well then, what are we doing standing around here? Let's go and see if we can find the others." Kaye said as they began to walk down the dark corridor.  
  
"Watch your step, the ground around here isn't very stable." Dais warned.  
  
"How can you see the ground, it's too dark, I can't see a thing?" Kaye replied as she squinted her eyes to see.  
  
"Why don't I bring things into the light, so to speak?" Cosa said as a bright light filled the room.  
  
"AAHH, my eyes! I can't see!" Kaye exclaimed as she was rubbing her eyes.  
  
"Quick, change into your armor!" Dais replied.  
  
"What!? You expect me to fight! How the heck am I suppose to fight when I can't see?" Kaye shot back.  
  
"I'll be your eyes, trust me, now transform!" Dais replied as he stood close to her.  
  
"I guess that I don't have a choice, Armor of the Tiger, come forth!" Kaye said as she called forth her armor.  
  
"Now will you hand over your armor, or will I be forced to take it from you?" Cosa asked, as he looked straight at Kaye.  
  
"Are you kidding? There's no way that I would ever just hand over my armor!" Kaye replied angrily as she was trying to get a feel of where he was.  
  
"I thought that you would say something like that." Cosa said with a smirk, as he was about to come in for an attack.  
  
"Kaye, watch out! Jump back, now!" Dais said as he saw Cosa coming in towards her.  
  
"Whoa, ok Dais, if you wouldn't mind, tell me a little sooner next time. That was just a little too close." Kaye replied as she tried to get a feel for Cosa again.  
  
"Hey, just be grateful that I told you in the first place. High block, then kick," Dais said as Kaye did exactly what he told her. Kaye kicked Cosa hard enough to make him fly back a few feet, and land on the ground face down. "Nice kick."   
  
"Thanks, hey, I think that I'm starting to get my vision back." Kaye replied as her vision went from black to blurry.  
  
"Unfortunately, tigress, it's not soon enough." Cosa said as his eyes glowed a bright golden-green, causing ora of the same color to glow around Kaye's armor.   
  
"What's, what's happening?" Kaye asked as she started to slowly rise into the air.  
  
"Since you won't give me your armor willingly, then I have no choice but to take it from you." Cosa replied as he made the ora glow even brighter. Kaye could feel her armor tearing away from her soul.   
  
"Cosa, stop it! You have all of the armors, so why are you taking hers?" Dais asked as he glared at Cosa.  
  
"There's where you're wrong, Dais, hers and two other armors are all that are left for me to collect. Now, if you feel like you want to live, then I would suggest that you don't interfere." Cosa warned. With one more shot of power, Kaye screamed in extreme pain as her armor was finally taken away from her. Then as soon as Cosa got her armor, Kaye fell to the ground unconscious.  
  
"Why you," Dais said as he was about to attack Cosa.  
  
"I wouldn't advise you to do that, Dais, but if you want to, then you're more than welcome to try." Cosa taunted with a smirk.  
  
"No, I can't attack Cosa that's exactly what he would want me to do." Dais thought as he glared at him, and then stood down from attacking.  
  
"I thought that you would see it my way," Cosa gloated. "Pick her up and follow me."   
  
"Where are you taking us?" Dais asked as he scooped Kaye up and carried her.  
  
"You'll find out soon enough." Cosa replied as he started to walk towards the other cells.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The clicking sound of an old-rustic lock made the two occupants of the cell turn their attention towards the creaking opening of the steel door. "Get in there, and don't let me hear any of you try anything stupid." Cosa said as he pushed Dais inside and then slammed the door shut.  
  
"Dais, what?" Cale asked as he saw that he was holding the unconscious female.  
  
"Kaye! Dais put her down over here." Sage said as he quickly made room.  
  
"Dais, you didn't answer my question." Cale said as he looked over at him as he laid her down next to Sage.  
  
"What does it look like, we got out of our cell, thanks to me. Then we started to try and find the rest of you to let you out, and then Cosa shows up, they fought, and in the end he got her armor." Dais replied as he went over to Cale and sat down.  
  
"And what did you do, Dais, just stand there and let him take it?" Sage asked angrily.  
  
"Hey, out of the two of us, she was the only one that still had an armor at the time. So I didn't really have a choice." Dais shot back.  
  
"Why you..," Sage replied as he was going to attack Dais. But then a groan made Sage stop and then he turned around and kneeled over by Kaye's side. "Kaye, are you all right?"  
  
"Sage?" Kaye asked in a groggy voice.  
  
"Yea it's me, can you sit up?" Sage asked as he helped her.  
  
"I'm sorry Sage, Cosa got my armor." Kaye replied.  
  
"I know, everything is going to be alright. Don't you worry, we'll get Cosa back for this." Sage said as he sat down next to her.  
  
"Dais, did Cosa say why he wanted the armors?" Cale asked as he looked over to him.  
  
"He said something about piecing back together this realm that Talpa destroyed." Dais replied as he looked back.  
  
"What else did Cosa say?" Cale asked.  
  
"He said that since he doesn't have the Ancient's staff that our armors will be enough to do the job. He also said that there were two more armors that he needed to get yet." Dais replied.  
  
"Two more? Which ones would those be?" Cale asked.  
  
"If I would guess, I would have to say, Ryo and Cye." Sage replied as he finally spoke up.  
  
"Then we still have a chance to get out of here, wherever here is, and then we can get our armors back and stop Cosa." Kaye said as she looked over at him.  
  
"Optimistic, aren't ya?" Cale asked skeptically.  
  
"You better believe it." Kaye replied with a smirk. 


	12. ch 12

Realm Remix  
  
Ch. 12  
  
"The first option is to escape: Run first and ask questions later. The second option is to give in. If your attacker is only interested in robbing you, then give him or her what he or she wants. The third option is to hit and run. If your attacker is overconfident and has let down their guard, or if you think you can take them on, use a striking technique... and then run away. The fourth option is to 'go for the kill....'"  
  
  
  
"Self Defense" From "Martial Arts for Women."  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
"All right. Priority number one is to get out of here," Kaye stated, kicking the door. "Priority number two, find the others."  
  
"What's priority number three?" Sage asked her.  
  
"Priority number three is not dying while doing so," Kaye smiled.  
  
"Like I said, what an optimist," Cale muttered. Dais hit him upside the head.  
  
"... Ow."  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Tigermoon locked her fingers around Rowen's wrist. "All right, blue, where do you want to go? DisneyWorld? Walmart? Maybe stop by a restaurant and pick up something to eat?"  
  
"Very funny." Rowen rolled his eyes. "Let's just try and find the others."  
  
"All right," Tigermoon shrugged, "But it might take a while. I don't know exactly where they are. Oh... and you might want to close your eyes."  
  
"Why --- Aaaah!" Rowen yelped as they were jerked away from the cell.  
  
Spaceshifting with Tigermoon was very different from teleporting with the Ronins. She slipped between the leylines of energy like they were physical beings. Rowen opened his eyes once to see rooms and cells flash past, but oddly enough, they were all two-dimensional, like photographs. It was a sickening feeling, and he shut his eyes quickly. Then suddenly his guide slowed down, looked from side to side, and dove forward.  
  
"I think there's someone in here," Tigermoon announced, dragging him to a halt in a small room filled with steam. "I can sense some power."  
  
"Would it be coming from him?" Rowen asked, pointing to a head of bright red hair in what appeared to be a bathtub.  
  
"What the hell?" an enraged voice screamed. Doste poked his head up from a pile of suds, where he was taking a bath.  
  
"Oops, my mistake, that's a bad guy. Don't mind us," Tigermoon said soothingly, grabbing Rowen by his wrist and leaping off again.  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
Cye and Ryo tensed into defensive positions as their attacker walked forward. Siren seemed to be enjoying the whole thing and was in no apparent hurry,strolling towards them like a cat approaching an already wounded bird.  
  
Ryo narrowed his eyes as he tried to think of a way out of this. How do you fight something that can phase into gas and avoid your blow? "Hey Cye?" he asked suddenly.  
  
"What?" Cye asked, keeping his focus on Siren.  
  
"Were you ever paying attention in chemistry class?"  
  
"More than you were, that's for sure," Cye rolled his eyes.  
  
Ryo decided to ignore that. "Did they ever tell us how to fight gas?"  
  
"With Tums?"  
  
"Cye, if you hadn't noticed, our lives are kind of at stake here," Ryo growled as the two of them started backing away.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"If you're done arguing, Ronins, I haven't got all day," Siren called out. Before they could react, he lunged forward. His movements were faster than the eye could see, but next thing Ryo knew, Cye was six feet away from him on the ground. Siren put one knee on Torrent's back and pulled off his helmet.  
  
Siren looked over at Ryo. "Want to see him die quickly or slowly? Doesn't really matter to me."  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Ryo screamed.  
  
"We've told you, Ronins. We want our home back. This is going to blow your mind, but..." Siren smiled. "You're the bad guys here."  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
"All right, that's it," Dais whispered as the last hinge on the door gave way. Kaye and Cale were holding the door so it wouldn't fall and cause a commotion.  
  
Sage was keeping a lookout. "All clear," he told them. The four warriors picked up the door and pushed it carefully against the far wall. They stood in the hall and looked around warily. It was too dark to see much. Just a few dim shapes that could be anything at all.  
  
"All right, now where do we go?" Cale asked.  
  
Kaye sighed, "It would help if we could see," she reminded him.  
  
"You forget, Cale and I can see in the dark," Sage spoke up. "There's another cell down there, maybe we should check it out."  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
"So if we're here in the buffer zone, and Kayura's stuck on Earth, who's protecting the Netherworld?" Kento asked as he pushed against the door.  
  
Sekhmet looked up from where he was kicking the wall pointlessly. "No one. It's defenseless for now. But I don't think they're interested in the Netherworld, they only want to fix their own realm."  
  
"Makes you think, doesn't it. Maybe we'd be doing the same thing."  
  
"Shrewd observation, Hardrock. If I didn't know better--" Sekhmet cut himself off, counted to ten, and reminded himself that they weren't enemies anymore.  
  
"What?" Kento demanded, annoyed. "Finish the insult."  
  
"Never mind, it wasn't a particularly good insult anyway." Sekhmet kicked the door. He was very surprised when it opened.  
  
"Hey guys," Kaye said cheerfully, poking her head in. "Ready to go?"  
  
"How did you get here?" Sekhmet asked, but Kaye wasn't paying attention, she was busy with Kento.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine, are you all right?"  
  
"You're hurt!"  
  
"I'm all right, what about you?"  
  
Sage, Cale, Dais and Sekhmet looked at each other and sighed.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
Shiree stood in the main hall with the energy of the realm crackling around her. "All available Guardians, come to me," she intoned dramatically.  
  
Doste appeared in a towel, looking disgruntled. "Give me a minute, okay?" he yelled, vanishing again.  
  
With more dignity, Cosa appeared. An instant later, a young-looking woman solidified, leaning on a naginata. She had flame-colored hair and seething green eyes, and was wearing a long yellow yukata. A man blurred into existence at her side, standing with catlike grace, holding a long katana in each hand. He looked about sixteen, with tanned skin, unruly black hair and burning blue eyes, dressed in a pure white karate gi. Finally, Doste appeared wearing an ancient-style kimono and with soapsuds in his hair.  
  
Shiree looked at them and sighed. "Siren's still out fighting? He must be getting soft." She prowled down the line of Guardians with a thoughtful look.  
  
"You," she said suddenly as she turned to the young man with fiery blue eyes.  
  
"Go stand guard at the entrance."  
  
He nodded politely and vanished again.  
  
"Shiree, with all due respect," the woman in yellow spoke up. "Why did you send Hariel away? We need him."  
  
"Because of who he is. I believe Hariel will do what it takes to save his world. But I don't know if we can turn him against the armor bearers," Shiree replied, looking at the place where he had been with narrowed eyes. "You will not mention them in Hariel's prescence, do you understand? He can't know what's going on."  
  
The others nodded.  
  
"Cosa, did you get the Tiger armor?" Shiree asked him next. For answer he held up the silvery orb. "Good. As soon as Siren is finished with Torrent and Wildfire, we can kill the bearers off. We won't need them if we have Hariel."  
  
"What about me, what can I do?" the woman in yellow demanded angrily. "I will not be left out! It's my world too!"  
  
Doste looked at her with scorn, "Get used to it, Ikari. I'm left out all the time."  
  
"That's because you're a little--"  
  
"Enough," Cosa interrupted them. "Ikari, if you want to do something, go pick on the Ancient down on Earth."  
  
"All right," Ikari replied, disappearing instantly.  
  
"Why'd you tell her to do that?" Doste demanded. "We don't need the staff any more."  
  
"If it keeps that minx out of our hair, I really don't care," Cosa replied, walking away.  
  
"Why don't you go yell at the prisoners, Doste," Shiree said soothingly, as the boy was starting to look furious.  
  
"All right," Doste perked up, leaving as well.  
  
"Let's just hope he doesn't mess things up," Cosa told Shiree when they were alone.  
  
She laughed. "If it keeps that brat out of our hair, I really don't care," she smirked, putting her arm around his shoulder. They vanished together.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Kayura gasped as a woman in yellow materialized in front of her. Instantly she put her hand out for the Ancient's staff and got into an attack position. "Get out," she gritted.  
  
The woman smiled. "Hello, Kayura. It's been a long time."  
  
"Not long enough," Kayura hissed. "Get out of here, Ikari. I never want to see you again."  
  
"Oh, but you will." Ikari responded. "You'll be seeing a lot of us when the Lost realm comes back." She held up her naginata and countered Kayura's blow with the staff.  
  
Kayura gritted her teeth and tried to fight off the blows, but Ikari was skilled with the naginata and Kayura only had a few year's practice with the staff. Kayura made a split second decision. She struck back savagely at Ikari and then took several steps back. She held out her hands and closed her eyes. With a flash of purple light, her jitte appeared in her hands.  
  
"Now you will hear the cries of the stars..." Kayura growled, holding up the swords. "Star... Sword... SCREAM!"  
  
Ikari flipped to the ground and held up her own weapon. A shield of golden orange energy sprung up, deflecting the attack. Kayura watched in horror as the surekill shot into the sky, enlarging the hole between the worlds.  
  
"Oops," she whispered.  
  
"Yeah, oops," Ikari smirked, getting back to her feet. She bowed formally, almost mockingly, to Kayura. The Ancient returned the bow politely. The two women circled for a moment, eyeing each other up and down. Then they clashed together.  
  
The fight was stylized, like a dance, in the fashion of duels fought hundreds of years ago.  
  
"You'll make a mistake soon, Kayura," Ikari said casually, blocking Kayura's right sword as it slashed close to her neck. "You always make a mistake."  
  
Kayura stepped back and half-turned, the naginata blade stabbing past her. She caught it by the shaft and pushed it back before Ikari twisted it free. "I've changed since you saw me last," she replied, blocking a high sweep with one sword and piercing Ikari's shoulder with the other.  
  
Ikari didn't seem to notice her wound. She caught the jitte blades on her naginata and pushed them away, holding them immobile against the smaller woman's side. She leaned close and whispered, "You killed Anubis, didn't you?"  
  
Kayura faltered, as if the words had physically stabbed her through the heart. "No!"  
  
"We were watching," Ikari continued, a triumphant gleam in her hard green eyes.  
  
"You killed him."  
  
"No!" Kayura yelled, stumbling back. The naginata flashed twice, one blow to the side and the other to the head. Kayura dropped to the ground.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Cye cried out as Siren pressed a hand against his mouth. Cye's eyes went wide as he began to choke. His symbol phased briefly on his forehead before he passed out.  
  
Ryo cried out in rage as his own kanji lit up. Without thinking, he charged at Siren.  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
"Here!" Tigermoon shouted, yanking Rowen along urgently. He opened his eyes to see that they had landed in a cell full of people. Kento, Sage, Cale, Sekhmet and Dais were all clustered around Kaye, who seemed to be having some kind of seizure.  
  
"Kaye! Is she all right?" Rowen jumped in behind Sage. As he did, his kanji also lit up.  
  
"It's Cye," Kento told him. "We can't get much out of her, except that he's hurt."  
  
Seeing that Dais, Sekhmet, Tigermoon, and Cale were looking confused, he added, "Cye and Kaye are brother and sister."  
  
"Blood bonding," Dais nodded. "Well, I guess that means Torrent's out."  
  
"Who's left to fight?" Rowen demanded.  
  
"Ryo. Kayura, but she probably can't get back here. Apparently the Warlords have powers out of armor. And there's her." Sage pointed at Tigermoon.  
  
Tigermoon looked around, as if she thought he was pointing at someone else. "...What?" 


	13. ch 13

Realm Remix  
  
ch 13  
  
"You'll pay for that!" Ryo yelled at Siren angrily as he kept charging. Siren backed away just as Ryo swung away at him.   
  
As they were fighting, Cye started to barely stir. "Cye, don't you dare leave us." Kaye's voice whispered to him in his mind.  
  
"Kaye?" Cye groaned quietly as he started to come around a little more.  
  
"Cye, Ryo needs your help." Kaye replied as her concerned voice echoed in his head.   
  
Cye opened his eyes slightly, and he could see that Ryo was going all out against Siren. He started to slowly roll to his side and then pushed himself up to stand while steadying himself on the nearest bolder. "Ryo...Ryo!" Cye yelled as he saw him go down.  
  
"Say goodbye." Siren said as he brought his weapon up above his head and ready to strike down towards him.  
  
"Super wave smasher!" Cye yelled as he delivered his sure-kill towards him.   
  
"What! NO!" Siren yelled as he was caught totally unaware of Cye's attack. It hit him dead on, making Siren fly back into the farthest wall and falling unconscious.  
  
"Cye!" Ryo exclaimed as he was getting up from the ground and running over to him before he fell down.  
  
===============================================================  
  
"Tigermoon..." Kaye whispered as she looked up towards the slightly confused and yet concerned female.  
  
"Yea?" Tigermoon asked back as she knelt down next to her.  
  
"I need you to do something." Kaye replied as she started to sit up.  
  
"What is it?" Tigermoon asked as she helped her sit up fully.  
  
"I need you to spaceshift and get Cye and Ryo, and bring them back here." Kaye replied as she looked towards her.  
  
"What?!" as she let go of Kaye making her almost fall backwards and hitting the ground, but she quickly regained her composure and caught her.  
  
"Please, we need them." Kaye pleaded with her.  
  
Tigermoon looked at her a bit longer, "ok, I'll only do it because you've asked so nicely." she replied with a slight smirk, and then she disappeared.  
  
===============================================================  
  
"Cye, I thought that you..." Ryo started to say, but just then Tigermoon popped over in front of them.  
  
Ryo quickly got in front of Cye, and drew his swords. "Hey, whoa there, take it easy. If you didn't want me to drop in, all you had to do was say so." Tigermoon said as she backed up a little.  
  
"Sorry, I thought that..." Ryo replied as he seethed his swords.  
  
"That I was one of the bad guys. Give me a break! You know what I don't have to take this. The only reason why I'm here, is because Kaye asked me nicely." Tigermoon said in slight annoyance.  
  
"Tigermoon, is she..?" Cye asked in concern.  
  
"She's ok, but I know that she'll feel better when we get back to the rest of them. So let's go already, they're waiting for us." Tigermoon replied as she grabbed onto their wrists and spaceshifted from their present location.  
  
"Uhhh, I thought that I..." Siren started to say as he was slowly getting up.  
  
"Siren, Shiree was right, you are getting soft," Cosa replied as he looked at him in disgust. "But lucky for you, we need all of the guardians that we can get."   
  
===============================================================  
  
"What is taking them so long?" Kaye asked as she was pacing.  
  
"Hey we're back, and it's a good thing, now my nose can stop itching." Tigermoon replied as she, Cye and Ryo appeared.  
  
"Ryo, Cye, hey are you two ok?" Rowen asked as they looked towards them.  
  
"Yea we're fine Rowen, we had a small problem, but Cye took care of it." Ryo replied with a smirk.  
  
"I would have to call that pure luck." Doste said as he appeared standing on a narrow catwalk.  
  
"Luck! Yea right you little pain. Why don't you come down here and say that?" Kento challenged as he looked towards him.  
  
"I thought that you would never have asked," Doste replied with a grin as he summer salted down and landed a few feet away from them. "Now, what do you say that you give me a try?"  
  
===============================================================  
  
"You have got to be kidding me? Is that all you got, Kayura? Pathetic." Ikari said in disgust as she stared at Kayura as she was lying on the ground.  
  
Ikari took one last look at Kayura, and then turned and started to walk away from her. "Where do you think that you're going? This is far from over." Kayura replied as she was up on one knee and leaning onto the staff.  
  
"I guess that you still have some fight in you after all." Ikari said with a sly grin.  
  
"Why are you having your fight with me anyway? I thought that Talpa was your enemy?" Kayura asked as she and Ikari circled each other.  
  
"I fight anyone that worked for Talpa." Ikari replied as she glared at her.  
  
"But ever since the Ronins defeated Talpa, we've been living in peace. We no longer serve under Talpa." Kayura shot back.  
  
"I don't care! Talpa took what we had and used it for his own. He never intended to restore our realm! So now we're going to do it with the armors and Hariel, so we don't need that staff any more." Ikari replied as she brought her naginata up and around, making Kayura block high with the staff.  
  
"What do you mean?" Kayura asked as she swung away Ikari's naginata.  
  
"Oops, I've said too much. Well, that doesn't matter, because there's nothing that you can do about it anyway. Especially   
  
since you can't get back to them." Ikari replied with a smirk as she started to float up into the air. "Oh and Kayura, it was good to see you again."  
  
===============================================================  
  
"Hey red, nice suds. What do you use, head and shoulders?" Tigermoon asked in amusement.  
  
"Why you insolent cur, you'll pay for that remark!" Doste replied angrily as he quickly wiped away the rest of the suds.  
  
"For your information, I'm not a dog. Do you see a tail or tags on me? No? I didn't think so." Tigermoon shot back.  
  
"Hey in case you've forgotten, we're not exactly in the best position to be bantering back and forth like this." Rowen said as he tried to get Tigermoon from edging on Doste.  
  
"He started it, he called me a dog." Tigermoon replied as she crossed her arms.  
  
"It doesn't matter who started it. Wait, wait a minute, why are we even having this conversation?" Sage asked as he was trying to not become confused by the bantering between Tigermoon and Doste.  
  
"I was only trying to buy you guys some time to try and figure out a plan." Tigermoon replied as she rolled her eyes.  
  
"I'm getting tired of waiting. Are you going to stand there and talk all day, or are we gonna fight?" Doste asked as he was starting to lose his patients.  
  
"Relax, would ya? They'll be more than ready to kick your sorry ass in just a in a minute. Sheesh, you definitely don't have any patients, do you?" Tigermoon asked wirily.  
  
===============================================================  
  
"Kayura, are you sure? She actually said the name Hariel?" Mia asked in slight confusion. "But he's been dead for a very long time."  
  
"I know, but that's what she said." Kayura replied as she was pacing the room.  
  
"But how could that be possible?" Mia asked as she looked towards her.  
  
"That, I'm not so sure." Kayura replied as she finally stopped pacing and sat down.  
  
"Then there's the fact that she brought up they don't need the staff any more. Did she say how else they were going to repair their realm?" Mia asked.  
  
Kayura wasn't sure if she should tell Mia that they were going to use the armors instead of the Ancient's staff. "If Hariel   
  
is alive, then they won't need any of the Ronins to control the five armors. Considering that the Inferno was his armor to start off with. If that's the case, then why take the armor of the warlords, and tiger's armor?" Kayura thought as she frowned.  
  
"Kayura, tell me something. Say that Hariel is alive, then what do you think would happen to the guys?" Mia asked as she looked over at her in concern.  
  
"I won't lie to you Mia, the one's from the Lost Realm would probably kill them, since they won't be needed to control the Inferno." Kayura replied quietly.  
  
"But what about the warlords, and Kaye? Why did they take them as well, if all they were after were the five armors to begin with?" Mia asked worriedly.  
  
"I wish that I could tell you, but I don't even know why." Kayura replied as she started down at the floor.  
  
"Oh," Mia said quietly, and then her eyes snapped open as she realized something. "Kayura, what do you think would happen if Hariel knew that the Ronins were alive? Would he still help those from the Lost Realm?"   
  
"I don't know. From what I can understand, Ikari said that they are trying to repair their home. But if Hariel knew how they are going to go about to do it, then he might just refuse to help them." Kayura replied as she started to feel a bit of hope to rise.  
  
"But how are we going to get in contact with Hariel? I mean he's in this Lost Realm with the others." Mia asked.  
  
"Just leave that to me." Kayura replied with a smile. "I have an idea." 


	14. ch 14

Realm Remix   
  
Chapter 14   
  
Cosa smiled as he put his hand in the bowl of water, making the surface turn glassy and mirrorlike. "Aw, look at Doste, playing with the big boys," he drawled.   
  
Shiree came and stood behind him as she worked a knot out of her hair. She frowned pensively as she watched the mirror. "Shouldn't you go and help him out?"   
  
"Oh, let's have them teach him a lesson. He's getting too cocky for his own good."   
  
"No. I don't like it," Shiree stated, glaring down at the reflection. "Those warriors outnumber him, and even though we're on our own turf, I don't want to risk losing one of us. Even if it is Doste. Grab an armor and go rescue him."   
  
"I can't manage the armors," Cosa argued, turning away from the mirror. "After about five minutes it's impossible to wear them."   
  
"So? Beat them in five minutes," Shiree said carelessly as she began unrolling a tatami mat. "I'm going to have a nap. I'll need to be rested for the ceremony tonight." She stretched and lay down on the mat, closing her eyes.   
  
"Come with me." Cosa folded his arms across his chest and looked down at her with raised brows.   
  
"No. Go away." In the classic fashion of people trying to sleep, Shiree grabbed a random pillow and clutched it over her head.   
  
"Coward."   
  
"Get out of my room!"   
  
"Come on, don't you want to see what the tiger armor is like?" Cosa wheedled.   
  
Shiree opened one eye in interest. Cosa held up the silvery armor sphere. She watched it with narrowed eyes. He could practically see the gears whirring inside her brain.   
  
Her decision made, Shiree grabbed her pillow and threw it at him. "All right all right. Help me up."   
  
========================================================   
  
"All right, Tigermoon, that's enough chattering from you," Doste growled. He held out his hand and blasted her with bright blood red light. The girl made a strange meeping noise like a strangled parakeet and dropped to the floor. The Warlords, as one, knelt down around her and spat several incredibly rude curses at Doste.   
  
"Hey, let her alone, she didn't do anything to you," Kaye said angrily, trying to get to her feet. "Ah, pain. All right, shorty, come over here so I can slap you... because I don't feel like getting up," she finished, sitting back down and holding her side.   
  
"SHORTY?"   
  
Sage and Kento quickly got in the way before Doste could strangle Kaye.   
  
"Look, we don't really want to fight you." Cye stepped between them with his best 'Trust-Me-On-This' eyes. He couldn't bring himself to hurt someone who looked as small and childlike as Doste. (Although Doste looked like he was going to go for Sage's neck with his bare teeth alone.)   
  
"Yes we do Cye, there's this little matter of him having the rest of our armors."   
  
They were interrupted by the arrival of two armored figures. Cosa had chosen to try out the armor of Strata, but apparently the armor was rejecting him. A glowing golden-green force field surrounded him and the armor, keeping it firmly around his body.   
  
Kaye gritted her teeth as Shiree leaned on her - Kaye's - bo staff. Bearing the Tiger armor, Shiree had a look on her face like a cat that swallowed a canary, a cheeseburger and someone else's parakeet. In short, Shiree looked way too pleased with herself.   
  
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Doste whined. "I thought you were going to let me--"   
  
"We got bored," Shiree said indifferently. She flicked him a glowing green kanji orb. "Here, try out Venom..."   
  
Doste caught the armor with a gleam growing in his eyes, like a pyro in a fireworks factory.   
  
"So, Strata, want to know what your surekill feels like?" Cosa began, nocking an arrow to his bow.   
  
"Not really, no," Rowen shot back.   
  
"All right, everyone, get in a defensive position around Kaye," Ryo said, looking at their injured comrade. "Where's that Tigermoon--" He cut himself off as he looked around, noticing the lack of certain people.   
  
"Where'd the Warlords go?" Rowen asked angrily.   
  
"Looks like they took Tigermoon and left, or the other way around," Sage replied calmly.   
  
Kento said several things under his breath, most of which included swear words that no one had ever heard of before, none of them flattering to the Warlords. The Ronins surrounded Kaye and got into fighting stances.   
  
Kaye decided that injury or not, she wasn't going to let them fight alone. She stood up, got into a back stance, and fell into Kento. "I'm fine," she insisted as he helped her back up.   
  
"Well, you did just have your armor ripped away..." Kento began.   
  
"But other than that, good to fight," Kaye announced, standing up on her own, but wobbling a bit.   
  
Since Cye and Ryo still had their armors, they drew their weapons. "All right, let's see what you've got," Ryo challenged.   
  
"Pity your friends ran away," Shiree smirked as she charged at him. "Pity for you, that is."   
  
Ryo's katanas clashed against her bo staff as they met in battle.   
  
Doste looked down at his hands, which were covered in the dark green metal of the Venom armor. The armor was fighting him very strongly, it was all he could do to keep it bound to him. He concentrated and created a force field around it, similar to the one Cosa was using to keep Strata. "All right, who goes first?" he asked when he had finished.   
  
"Cheers," Cye replied in a very British way, pulling out his yari.   
  
Meanwhile, Rowen, Sage, Kento and Kaye were in the worst trouble of all. Cosa had the archer's advantage; he could hang back from the battle and pick them off with arrows before they could attack him. Luckily Cosa was paying little attention to his aim; Strata was fighting him very fiercely and he had to keep up the force field.   
  
"So, anyone got any bright ideas?" Sage asked the others hopefully as he ducked out of arrow range.   
  
"Uh, no -- aah!" Kaye cried suddenly as she fell to the floor. An arrow whizzed past just where her head had been.   
  
"Very graceful, tigress. Now was that dumb luck, or did you actually mean to fall over?" Cosa snerked.   
  
Kaye glared at him from where she was kneeling, trying to pretend that she wasn't that badly hurt. She reached for a rock that was lying near her and flung it at him in true pitching style. It hit the force field around his armor with an odd gong-like sound.   
  
Kento grabbed a rock that had crumbled out of the wall. He pulled his arm back and threw it at Cosa. The rock rebounded off the force field, but it left a definite crack, and the golden green field flickered for a minute.   
  
Rowen's eyes lit up. "Target practice. Fun." He grabbed a handful of rocks and started chucking them wildly.   
  
"Careful, Rowen, you don't want to scratch your armor," Sage warned. But he bent down and picked up his own rock, pitching it with perfect accuracy at Cosa's head.   
  
"I always knew it, one day softball practice would come in handy," Kaye cheered as she grabbed another rock.   
  
Cye was holding his own against Doste very well. The new bearer of Venom had barely half the skill Sekhmet did, and the armor was fighting him all the time. Cye knocked Doste's swords out of reach and forced him to the ground.   
  
Doste looked up at him. "You wouldn't really kill me, would you?"   
  
Cye faltered for barely an instant as he looked at Doste's childish face. Then he was jerked backwards by the back of his neck. Siren looked down at him with cold pale green eyes. "Payback time," he hissed.   
  
"Cye!" Kaye called out as she saw him go limp. His armor vanished into Siren's palm, and the Guardian held up a light blue orb in triumph.   
  
That was when Cosa suddenly vanished. He reappeared behind her, grabbed her around the neck and waist and pulled her back, using her as a shield. "Go ahead, keep throwing rocks. I dare you."   
  
Ikari appeared. "Guess what?"   
  
"Don't interrupt, Ikari, it isn't polite," Shiree spat back, locking weapons with Ryo.   
  
"Forget politeness, it's time, we have to act now," Ikari retorted.   
  
Shiree growled angrily as Ryo's sword just missed her cheek. "Well then, make yourself useful so that we get there on time," she answered.   
  
Ikari pulled out her naginata. "Two fights in one day. Things are looking up."   
  
"I am really getting sick of you," Kaye muttered as Cosa took several steps backward, still using her as a shield.   
  
"Well, don't worry, you won't have to put up with me much longer."   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"The last Ronin has just fallen," Shiree answered for her, holding up a bright red armor sphere. She bowed mockingly towards the last remaining fighters. "You fought bravely. I salute you." She held up her hand commandingly. Doste, Siren, Ikari and Cosa walked towards her. Doste banished the Venom armor with obvious relief, wiping sweat from his face. Ikari licked her finger and rubbed away some of Ryo's blood that had gotten on her cheek. Cosa still held a struggling Kaye in front of him, and Siren looked very weak and tired.   
  
"Guardians, you've done a good job," Shiree told them. "Now we've got to do our job. Time to take back our world." 


	15. ch 15

Realm Remix  
  
ch 15  
  
"It looks like you're coming along for the ride." Cosa said as he tightened his grip on Kaye.  
  
"Hey, who said that I wanted to?" Kaye asked as she was still trying to struggle.  
  
"Who here really gave you a choice?" Cosa replied as he then looked over to the Ronins and gave an evil grin. "Bye."  
  
"Come back here, you coward!" Kento yelled after them. "Bring Kaye back!"  
  
"Talk about things getting from bad to worse, first we're somehow transported to who knows where. Second, our armors are taken away, third, the warlords and Tigermoon disappear to who knows where, and now for some reason they took Kaye with them." Rowen said as he was analyzing their situation.  
  
"Ryo, Cye, are you two all right?" Sage asked as he noticed that they were coming around.  
  
"Yea, I'm fine, a bit wiped out though." Cye replied as he stood up.  
  
"Yea, I'm fine too, just mad about our armors getting taken away. What would they want them for? It's not like they can use them." Ryo said with a frown.  
  
"Shiree said something about taking back their world. But I'm still not quite clear on why they need our armors, unless.." Rowen mused as he was thinking about a possible solution.  
  
"Unless what? Rowen?" Cye asked as he and the others looked towards him.  
  
"I think I remember Cale saying something about that they don't need the Ancient's staff anymore, they probably figured out that our armors have more than enough power to take back their world." Sage replied.  
  
"Then why did they take Kaye?" Kento asked as he finally spoke up.  
  
"I don't know." Rowen replied.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Let go of me! I said let go!" Kaye said angrily as she was trying to struggle free.  
  
"Patience, my Tigress, patience. You'll be free of me soon enough." Cosa replied as a metal grate started to lower down from the ceiling. Just as it was finally lowered, Cosa quickly changed his hold on her, and then shoved Kaye right into the metal grate. Kaye arched her back and yelled out as she made contact with it. Then just as that happened, liquid metal vines shout out and wrapped around Kaye's arms, legs, and torso, pulling her tighter into the grate.   
  
Then the vines solidified into regular chains.   
  
"What's the big idea?!" Kaye asked as she was trying to struggle, but no matter how hard she tried, the chains wouldn't budge.  
  
"I told you that you would be free of me, not free to leave. And another thing, if I were you, I would stop struggling, it won't do you any good." Cosa replied with an evil smile.  
  
"Doste!" Shiree called.  
  
"Yes? What do you want?" Doste asked as he raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"I want you to go and retrieve Hariel. It's time." Shiree replied as she looked at him with a major attitude.  
  
"You're actually going to let me do something on my own? Are you sure that I can handle such an important task? Maybe I should ask one of the others to come with me?" Doste asked sarcastically.  
  
"Would you just go before I change my mind?" Shiree asked back.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"What the hell are we doing all the way over here?" Cale asked in slight annoyance.  
  
"How am I supposed to know?" Tigermoon shot back.  
  
"Well you're the one that got us here in the first place!" Sekhmet replied.  
  
"All I know is that we space shifted, and the next thing, bam, we're here. I think that something must have interfered with it." Tigermoon explained.  
  
"Do you think that you can space shift us back to the Ronins?" Dais asked.  
  
"Of course I can, but can you answer the question of why did the chicken crossed the road?" Tigermoon replied with a smirk.  
  
"What? Of course, that's an easy riddle...wait, why are we even having this conversation?" Dais asked, "Are you going to space shift us back or not?"  
  
"Ok, ok don't get your pants in a bunch. Sheesh." Tigermoon replied as she rolled her eyes. Just as she was going to get ready to go back, she saw someone off in the distance. "Who, it can't be."  
  
"Now what?" Anubis Sekhmet asked as he placed his hands on his hips.  
  
"Over there. Don't you see him?" Tigermoon asked back as she pointed over to a ridge.  
  
"See who?" Cale asked as he went over to her. "I don't believe it, it can't be."  
  
"Cale?" Dais asked.  
  
"It's Hariel." Cale replied in awe.  
  
"How could that be possible? Hariel has been dead for centuries." Dais said in slight confusion.  
  
"Or he made it to make us think that he did." Sekhmet replied.  
  
"Why would he do that? It doesn't make sense." Cale said.  
  
"Unfortunately, it looks like going up and asking him is out of the question." Tigermoon replied as she noticed that Doste appeared behind him.  
  
"What's Hariel's reasoning to team up with them? He wouldn't do it without a reason." Dais asked as they continued to watch.  
  
"Or there is the possibility that he doesn't really know their true motives yet." Cale replied. As Hariel and Doste were done talking, Hariel nodded and then they disappeared.  
  
"Tigermoon, do you..?" Sekhmet started to ask.  
  
"I'm already on it." Tigermoon replied as she spaced shifted from their present location.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"You called for me Shiree?" Hariel asked as he and Doste appeared.  
  
"Yes, Hariel. It's time for us to take back what's rightfully ours." Shiree replied with a smirk. Something about the way that Shiree smirked didn't feel right to Hariel. He started to look around, and then when he saw that Kaye was chained up to the metal grate he became furious.  
  
"Shiree, what's this about? Who is that, and why is she chained up?" Hariel asked angrily as his eyes flared.  
  
"She is of no importance. She's just someone who hitched a ride earlier." Cosa replied with a smirk.  
  
"Hitched a ride!? More like got taken against my will!" Kaye shot back as she glared at Cosa.  
  
"Cosa, you've kidnapped this girl! What were you thinking? Get her down this instant!" Hariel ordered as he glared at Cosa.  
  
"Sorry Hariel, but unfortunately I don't take orders from you. Cosa replied.  
  
"Hariel? As in the first wearer of the Inferno?" Kaye asked in bewilderment.  
  
"The one and only." Doste replied with a smile.  
  
Just then on a high ledge, "are you sure that this is where Hariel and that red headed shrimp went to?" Cale asked.  
  
"Why don't you take a look for yourself," Tigermoon asked as she motioned below. Then her eyes went wide. "Wha..Kaye!?"  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" Dais asked as he grabbed onto Tigermoon's arm.  
  
"In case you didn't notice, Kaye needs help!" Tigermoon replied, as she pulled free and glared at him.  
  
"In case you forgot, we don't have armor, so we won't be of any help to her anyway." Cale said as he reminded her.  
  
"So we're just going to leave her there?" Tigermoon asked in disbelief.  
  
"For now we don't have a choice, but what we can do is try and find out what they're up to and then go back and tell the Ronins." Cale replied as they hunched down and tried to listen to what's going on below.  
  
"But I thought..." Kaye started to say.  
  
"You thought that he was dead? Don't be a fool, ever since his last battle with Talpa, Hariel has been here with us, defending what's left of the lost realm." Shiree replied as her eyes were glowing. "And now, since you are here, we have all that we need for the ceremony."   
  
Kaye started to struggle again as she noticed that Cosa started to walk towards her with a sword. "Don't worry my Tigress I'll be quick." Cosa taunted as with a flick of his wrist, cut a long-diagonal gash a crossed Kaye's abdomen. Kaye screamed in pain as he slashed at her again.  
  
"Stop it! Why are you doing this?" Hariel asked in anger.  
  
"Oh, did I forget to mention that what was also needed for the ceremony was the blood of an innocent?" Shiree asked with a grin. "Oh so I guess I did."  
  
As Cosa took another swipe a voice from above yelled out, "Kaye, no!" Tigermoon yelled in anger as she finally had enough.  
  
"Get them!" Shiree ordered as the Warlords stood up and started to pull Tigermoon away.  
  
"What are you doing? We have to get Kaye out of there!" Tigermoon said as she was fighting against them.  
  
"We don't have time! Tigermoon, you have to space shift and get us to the Ronins, and I mean now!" Cale replied. Tigermoon looked at the Warlords, and then back to where Shiree's flunkies were coming. She then nodded and just before they got there, Tigermoon and the Warlords vanished.  
  
"They got away." Doste said as he and the others came back.  
  
Kaye gave a small smirk, "now you're in for it. When they get back with the Ronins, you're gonna wish that you've never crossed our path."   
  
Cosa grew angry, his eyes glowed and then he took another swipe at Kaye's abdomen, making her scream from the extreme pain. "Ronins? What did she mean by that?" Hariel wondered. 


	16. ch 16

Realm Remix   
  
Chapter 16   
  
"Well, you can't say I didn't try."   
  
As one, the three Warlords folded their arms across their chests and glared at Tigermoon. She threw her hands in the air. "At least Mia's house is better than that creepy place..."   
  
"Guys!" Kayura came out of the house and flung her arms around Cale's neck. Mia followed, but at a more leisurely pace, and she didn't glomp any Warlords. The only one she would ever consider glomping was Anubis, and... there was no need to go into that now.   
  
"Remember Ikari, from the Dynasty?" Kayura was saying. When the men looked blank, she sighed. "She was the spirit trainer for the Netherspirits. She hated Talpa but she wasn't allowed to leave because nobody else could handle the spirits. But when the Ronins showed up the second time and it looked like Talpa was going to lose, she ran off?"   
  
"Oh, her."   
  
"Yes, her. Well, do you remember where she came from? I think it's important that we know," Kayura asked them.   
  
Dais looked at Sekhmet, who shrugged. They both turned to Cale, who was still rubbing his neck. "The Lost realm," Dais said finally. "I remember her saying something about it."   
  
"Good, that clears up a major plothole," Kayura sighed. "I thought she was just obsessed with revenge, but it's good to know she has a motive..."   
  
"Well, while you're clearing things up, why don't you solve the mystery of Hariel mysteriously resurrecting himself?" Cale asked.   
  
"What?" Kayura asked in utter confusion.   
  
"Well, it isn't that confusing... we thought he was dead, but we saw him again, so obviously not," Dais tried to explain.   
  
"Great. Just when I thought I had everything figured out." Kayura sighed and scuffed the dirt with her toe.   
  
"And the Ronin Warriors and Kaye are where?" Mia interrupted when Kayura had calmed down somewhat.   
  
"Um." Tigermoon winced as the others looked at her. "About that..."   
  
--------------------   
  
"Look, for this plan to succeed, we need to be very inconspicuous. Do you understand?" Sage cautioned the Ronins. There were nods all around the huddle of messy-haired heads.   
  
"Quiet, inconspicuous, yeah, I got it," Rowen affirmed.   
  
Sage narrowed his eyes, looking over at the one member of the group he wasn't sure of. " Kento. You will be able to do this, right?"   
  
Kento glared at him.   
  
Sage raised an eyebrow. Unfortunately, it was the eyebrow hidden by his massive hair, so nobody really noticed. "Right?"   
  
"Oh, yeah, sure, fine. I mean, Kaye's just being tortured right now, and Cye--" he jerked a thumb at the smallest Ronin, whose eyes were beginning to look glassy (like a fish out of water!) "--Is just having, like, a *wonderful* time here, you know, writhing in pain, and here *we* get to play ninjas and stalk around *spying* on people instead of *destroying* them because oh yeah, you're the one with the *wisdom* kanji, and of *course* you know what you're doing with all this *inconspicuous* bullsh--"   
  
"!" went Cye, clutching his forehead, falling to his knees, and effectively cutting off the rest of Kento's rant.   
  
"Cye? You okay?" Ryo knelt down to him.   
  
"Yeah. I think it's just the battle getting to me, and now Kaye," Cye replied as several hands helped him up.   
  
"Well, can you hang in there?" Ryo asked.   
  
"I think I can make it."   
  
"Good, because we're going to need you to find Kaye," Sage reminded him. "Theoretically, you have the best chance of any of us at finding her."   
  
"Yeah," Rowen chipped in cheerfully, "Like those canaries in the coal mines. If you die, we know we're in trouble!"   
  
"Oh," Cye glared at him. "This makes me feel so much better."   
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
"Exactly how safe is this?" Mia asked nervously as she sat herself down on White Blaze's back.   
  
"Safe?" Dais snorted. "We're relying on *Tigermoon* to transport five other people --- and a tiger -- to a realm we barely know anything about, in order to rescue some armorless Ronins from a group of crazed, homicidal fanatics. Not only that, but once we get there, we're relying on fighting without armor, and Kaye is being tortured as we speak. Miss Koji, I think it's safe to say that you missed the whole 'safe' train entirely."   
  
"What're fanatics?" Cale murmured.   
  
"You know; sort of like crazy stalker people..." Mia answered.   
  
"Oh, like on the Internet!"   
  
"Ah... nevermind." Mia gave up.   
  
Kayura got onto White Blaze's back, sitting with her arms locked around Mia's waist. The tiger didn't seem to object to being used as a pony again, and stared serenely into the distance.   
  
The Warlords all took hold of White Blaze, and Tigermoon got down and put her arms around his neck. "The things I do..." she muttered as the group vanished.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
"Ronins? What did she mean by that?" Hariel wondered.   
  
Kaye screamed out and fell back against her restraints. Slowly her body relaxed and she went limp. A tiny bit of blood was at the corner of her mouth.   
  
Hariel and Doste promptly fell silent and stared in horror. Ikari turned, shrugged, and went back to washing her hands.   
  
"Cosa, you didn't have to kill her!" Shiree scolded.   
  
Cosa blinked, stepping forward and leaning towards Kaye. He studied her for a few moments. "I don't hear any breath--"   
  
SNAP. Kaye's head cannoned into his, knocking him to the floor. She looked up defiantly and spat blood in his face. Cosa's eyes glowed again as he staggered to his feet.   
  
"Hmn, so she's showing some spirit after all," Shiree mused. "Oh well. I hate killing heroes." She noticed the looks that Doste and Hariel were wearing as they stared at Kaye. "Get over it, kids... you know what it takes."   
  
Furious, Cosa pulled his arm back to strike at Kaye again, but another hand caught his. Hariel looked at him calmly. "What did she mean by the Ronins, Cosa?"   
  
"You're Japanese, figure it out for yourself!" Cosa snarled, struggling to free his hand.   
  
"Ronins, that means 'masterless warriors.' Who are they? What are you hiding from me?!" Hariel demanded, getting a tighter grip on Cosa's arms.   
  
"Boys, boys, we're all on the same side," Shiree shouted in exasperation. She turned andstarted commanding her troops. "Doste, where are those armor spheres? Ikari, go find a bowl or something, this girl is getting blood all over the floor. Siren, pull yourself together, man. We can't have you passing out in the middle of the ceremony. Why aren't you people moving?!"   
  
"Who died and made you boss?" Doste sneered as he started picking up the armors.   
  
"Talpa and the Ancient did. When those old lunatics were feuding and ignoring us, our lives were so much easier... Hey! You two! You're fighting like dogs in an alley. Do you want me to get a hose and hose you down?" Shiree shouted as she noticed that she wasn't being obeyed.   
  
Cosa and Hariel reluctantly released each other, a glare of disgust and dislike passing between them. "Okay, what is it you need me to do?" Hariel asked.   
  
"Just summon your armor again," Shiree sighed. "Fix what Talpa and the Ancient messed up."   
  
======================================   
  
Freezing wind blew snow across an empty, white landscape. Which suddenly became un-empty as six people and a tiger appeared in it.   
  
"Oops."   
  
"Tigermoon!"   
  
"I'm trying, I'm trying!" the girl protested, wiping her streaked bangs out of her face. "I did my best, I really did! It just spat us out back here!" The icy cold wind promptly blew her bangs back into her face and she struggled to see.   
  
"Well, try it again!"   
  
"Hey, I'm not in control here! We might end up in a volcano for all I know!"   
  
"If you can get us to the Netherworld, I can try to raise a Gate." Kayura screamed to be heard over the wind.   
  
"Yeah, but the Lost realm is between Earth and the Netherworld! We'd have to go through it anyway!"   
  
"Could you raise a Gate here?" Mia shouted. Kayura shook her head.   
  
"I don't think so! Besides, we don't know where 'here' is!"   
  
Mia looked around the chill, freezing land. She couldn't see anything except snow. And snow. And more snow... The wind was so loud it sounded like screaming.   
  
"Uh, guys?" Dais yelled. "Sekhmet just collapsed..."   
  
Kayura swore. "Damn, that's right... he's cold-blooded. All right, Tigermoon, I don't care where you land us this time, just get us out of here!"   
  
Tigermoon seemed to have lost whatever scrap of sanity she had. She was frantically leafing through her clothes, turning out her pockets.   
  
"Ha!" she shouted finally, holding something up. "I found this when I came from the Netherworld. I think we can get a fix on it..."   
  
Kayura strained to see the object Tigermoon was holding through the blinding snow.   
  
It was a tattered black feather.   
  
=============================================================   
  
Hariel passed his hands over the armor spheres. The nine orbs glowed, their colors blending to sheer white. The only one unaffected was a silver/blue kanji sphere.   
  
The Ancient's armors returned to their original, purified, incredibly dangerous state as they solidified into one white crystal.   
  
Hariel held it in his hands and summoned a black subarmor. He brought up his hands, said something in Japanese, then began "Armor of Inferno--"   
  
"DON'T!" Kaye screamed, snapping to life so suddenly that Doste fell over backwards in surprise.   
  
"--The hell? If she keeps doing this I'm going to murder her myself," Shiree muttered.   
  
"Look, Hariel, I don't know how you got here, or what you're doing alive," Kaye said, talking very fast, her energy nearly gone. "But you've got to listen to me. The Ancient made Inferno into a lot of smaller armors..." Great, she thought, I've got to give this guy over a thousand years of history in under a minute. Less, if my strength doesn't give out. "Five of them were given to the Ronin Warriors so they could defend our-- AI!"   
  
Cosa slammed her back against her bonds. He looked into her eyes with his furious, slightly bloodshot ones. Kaye could see the madness in them. "Shut up," he suggested calmly.   
  
"Ignore her, Hariel," Shiree said coldly. She took off the headband that was holding back her long, pale hair. "All right, Tigress... I still don't want to kill you, so I'll just gag you instead." She stepped forward and got ready to tie her headband over Kaye's mouth.   
  
"No, Hariel, seriously, you've got to listen," Kaye said, dodging as far as her chains were allowed. "Really! It's your duty to fight with the armor bearers. It's not our fault that your world got messed up -- if we'd known, we'd have tried to stop it!"   
  
"Hold her still, Cosa."   
  
"HEY!" Kaye shouted as he pinned her back roughly, causing her injuries to hurt worse then ever. Shiree almost managed to gag her but Kaye jerked her head away.   
  
"Hariel, you've got to believe me! You can't betray us!"   
  
"I can't betray my home, either," he said firmly, but he kept his eyes on her. They were almost exactly like Ryo's eyes.   
  
"Maybe you don't have to," Kaye said softly. She stopped struggling to lock him with her gaze. "Isn't there always another way?"   
  
Shiree jammed her headband into Kaye's mouth and tied it tightly, but Kaye was done talking. For now.   
  
And then all hell broke loose. 


	17. ch 17

Realm Remix   
  
ch 17  
  
"What the?! What was that?!" Cosa asked as he looked around quickly.  
  
"You three, go and see what that was," Shiree ordered and then looked over to the rest of them. "The rest of you come with me, and Cosa, grab her too!" As soon as the three left, Cosa grabbed for Kaye's unconscious form, but before he could do so, Hariel got in front of him and stopped his advancement.  
  
"Hariel, what do you think that you're doing!?" Shiree asked outraged. "We need her for the ceremony!"  
  
"So far, I don't like what you've been doing to her! And since when do we take innocent lives?!" Hariel shot back.  
  
"Hariel, look if you want to regain our home, then let me pass and take her. But if continue to stand in the way, then you don't want to bring our home back at all!" Cosa replied hotly as he drew upon his sword.  
  
"I do want to get our home back, but not at the cost of an innocent's life! She's right, there has to be another way." Hariel replied as he too drew his sword.  
  
============================  
  
"Who would be stupid enough to come here on their own free will?" Siren asked as they hurried down the corridor.  
  
"Look over there and tell me who do you see." Doste replied in annoyance as he motioned to where Tigermoon has space shifted them to a huge room.  
  
"Smooth landing Tigermoon," Cale said sarcastically as he was dusting himself off. "Maybe the next time that we make an entrance, let's try and be a little louder!"  
  
"Cale, shut up! I got us here didn't I?" Tigermoon asked in annoyance as she jammed the feather back into where she found it.  
  
"So good to see all of you again, but I believe that none of you will go back home....alive." Ikari replied as she, Doste, and Siren were standing there battle ready.  
  
"Oh great, just what we need." Sekhmet said as he and the others got ready to fight.  
  
===========================  
  
"Cye, do you sense anything? Anything at all?" Kento asked in a worried voice.  
  
"Kento quiet and let Cye concentrate." Sage replied as he gave an annoyed glance towards him.  
  
"Sage, don't even start with me right now." Kento warned with a dangerous tone in his voice.  
  
"I'm getting something, it's faint." Cye replied as he frowned deeper, and then he faced a different direction. "There, she's over there!"  
  
"Then what are we still standing around here?!" Kento asked as he already took off in the direction that Cye pointed out.  
  
"So much for your plan of being inconspicuous." Rowen said as they took off after Kento.  
  
=============================  
  
"Hariel, I'm giving you one more chance to get out of the way!" Cosa warned with a gleam in his eye.  
  
"No! I do want my home back, but not this way! I won't allow you to take this girl's life!" Hariel replied angrily as he got ready to fight.  
  
"Then you are no longer on our side, you are a traitor to us!" Shiree said angrily.  
  
"Why? Just because I won't take an innocent's life?" Hariel shot back.  
  
"Yes." Cosa replied as he was about to come down with his sword onto the top of Hariel's head.   
  
Hariel barely saw the attack coming, he blocked it a few seconds before Cosa could make contact. "Then so be it!" Hariel said as he pushed Cosa away from them.   
  
Just then, "alright! Where is she?! Where's Kaye?! You better hand her over, and I mean now!" Kento yelled over to them as he and the others burst into the room.  
  
"Damn! I thought that since you don't have your armors any more that you would have perished by now!?" Shiree replied in annoyance.  
  
"You thought wrong! We don't go down that easy!" Ryo said as they advanced towards Shiree, and Cosa, who at the moment forget about Hariel and Kaye. As they were busy with the Ronins, Hariel was trying to free Kaye. He was having a lot of trouble with getting her out of the chains. So he did the only thing he could think of at the time, he took his sword and cut at them. As soon as her chains were cut, Kaye started to fall forward, and the broken chains that were on the grate, started to follow the falling girl so that they would be able to reconnect. Hariel saw this and he quickly caught Kaye, and with his other hand he sheathed his sword and picked up another weapon and threw it in the path. The chains that were from the grate wrapped around the weapon, stopping their pursuit.   
  
"Everything will be ok, I'm going to get you out of here." Hariel told her as he quickly took his white crystal, and her kanji ball, and put them in his pouch, then he picked the unconscious Kaye up and started to carry her away.  
  
"Hey! Where are you taking her!?" Kento yelled out to him as he noticed what was going on.  
  
"What?! Hariel! Come back here!" Cosa yelled at him as he and Shiree started to go after them.  
  
"Did I just hear him say Hariel?" Sage asked in confusion.  
  
"Yeah, I heard him too, we all did." Rowen replied with a frown.  
  
"Instead of just standing here and talking about a dead person, those two are going after him!" Kento said in annoyance.  
  
Shiree and Cosa skidded to a sudden stop. "Get out of our way!" Shiree yelled at them.  
  
"I don't think so!" Cye said as he and the others blocked them. Hariel stopped and took a quick look back, he smirked as he saw that the Ronins were holding Shiree and Cosa back from the pursuit. Hariel then laughed and disappeared with Kaye.  
  
==========================  
  
In Hariel's hidden chambers, Hariel put Kaye down onto his bed, and went to find a wet cloth and some bandages. As he was searching, Kaye was starting to come around. Kaye was more than slightly confused when she found herself on a soft bed instead of being chained up on that cold grate. Kaye tried to move, but she found out that she couldn't because her wrists were chained up to the bed. Kaye tried to yell out, she found that Shiree's headband still tied tightly around her mouth. "I see that you finally are waking up, good." Hariel said as he came back and sat down next to the bed. Hariel torn open her shirt, Kaye's eyes went wide and then she started to kick at him. "Would you stop!? I'm trying to get to your wounds." he said as he caught her legs and held them down tightly. Kaye narrowed her eyes at him, and then finally stopped moving. He gave a nod and then let go of her legs. "Alright, here's the deal, if I lower the headband, will you not scream? Because even if you did, it wouldn't matter, no one would be able to hear you anyway." he asked as Kaye gave a slight nod and Hariel slid down the head band to her neck. Kaye gasped for air as she was trying to get her breathing under control.  
  
"If you're trying to help me, then why am I chained to a bed?" Kaye asked angrily.  
  
"Would you rather still be chained up to that grate back there?" Hariel asked back.   
  
"No, but then again I don't like being chained up period." Kaye replied hotly.   
  
"I need you to be quiet so I can attend to your wounds. You have two choices, one you can be quiet on your own accord, or two I can put the gag back on you. So what is it going to be?" Hariel asked. Kaye gave a nod and then Hariel started to tend to her wounds.  
  
==========================  
  
'It's time, ready?' Shiree asked telepathically to Cosa.  
  
'I'm ready. That fool Hariel just doesn't realize that he has done exactly what is planned, does he?' Cosa asked back.  
  
'Now.' Shiree said as she ordered to Cosa.  
  
'This is going to be fun.' Cosa replied as his eyes flared and then he gained control of Hariel's mind.  
  
"Hey, what are you two doing?!" Ryo demanded angrily.  
  
"Oh nothing major, just taking over Hariel's mind." Cosa replied with a laugh. "You see, Hariel did what was expected of him."  
  
"What do you mean?! Are you saying that you wanted him to take Kaye?" Rowen asked with a confused frown.  
  
"Exactly." Shiree replied with a laugh and an evil glint in her eyes.   
  
"Why you…" Kento said angrily as he started to charge at them.  
  
"I wouldn't if I were you, because if you attack us, then the connection to Hariel will be dead and you'll never find your friend. Especially since Hariel took her to his hidden chamber, and even we don't know where that is." Cosa replied as he laughed more.  
  
===============================  
  
After Hariel was done bandaging her wounds, he was about to put away the supplies when Hariel dropped them and clutched his head in pain as he yelled out. "Hariel, what's wrong? Hariel!" Kaye yelled over to him.  
  
An evil laugh could be heard as Hariel turned slowly around, Kaye could see that his eyes were flaring. "Nothing is wrong, Tigress…Actually, everything is as it should be." Hariel said with a mix of his own voice and Cosa's.   
  
"No it can't be!" Kaye replied in surprise as she tried to struggle.   
  
"Oh but it is, my Tigress, and I believe that it's time that you show me some gratitude for saving your life." Hariel said as he started to slowly advance towards her with a hungry look in his eyes.  
  
"Get away! Don't you touch me!" Kaye yelled to him.  
  
"I plan to do more than touch you, much more." Hariel replied with an evil laugh as he was forcing himself onto her. 


	18. ch 18

Realm Remix  
  
Chapter 18  
  
============================================  
  
The Ronins felt a chill in their hearts at Cosa's words. "Secret chambers? That's not good," Rowen said, understating as usual. Then he realized something. "Ya know guys, we should restrain Kento... oh, he's already gone."  
  
Kento had long since lunged at Cosa, knocking him to the floor. Cosa's eyes were glazed, a nasty smile on his face, his mind half elsewhere. When Kento tackled him, Cosa's head hit the floor with a thud, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he passed out.  
  
Shiree was just standing there, laughing like a deranged hyena. "Hardrock's damn amusing. You can't break the connection that way. In fact, you've just made matters worse for yourself. Since you helpfully knocked him out, Cosa's mind can concentrate completely on keeping Hariel under control," Shiree shrugged.  
  
"I've had enough of this," Ryo growled, stepping forward. "I am the Warrior of Virtue, and I think it's time you answered to me."  
  
Shiree just smirked. "For crying out loud... you heroes are *so* freaking dramatic."   
  
The white-haired woman waved her fingertips slightly. A wall of bamboo shot up, surrounding Ryo, Sage, Rowen and Cye in a small, completely shut off enclosure.  
  
Kento leaped to his feet, moving with surprising grace. Shiree half-closed her eyes, making a cupping, twisting motion with her hands. More supple bamboo vines crackled out of the floor, their flexible strands wrapping around Kento's body.  
  
"You I want alive, handsome," Shiree purred. Slinking up to Kento, she brushed her hand along his jawbone.  
  
There was a glint in her eyes that would have made Kaye furiously angry.  
  
But Kaye had a few troubles of her own.  
  
============================================  
  
Kaye cried out as Hariel's hands locked around her arms. She tried to twist out of the way, but Hariel was larger than her and it was easy for him to keep her pinned.   
  
At that moment, Kaye did a dishonorable thing. She buckled forward and sank her teeth into Hariel's wrist. Biting was a dirty way to fight, but Hariel was playing beyond dirty. Kaye would worry about fair fighting later.  
  
Hariel screamed with two voices as Kaye bit him to the bone.   
  
Kaye wrenched herself free of his grasp, choking and spitting up bitter blood. "Just like a Tigress," she snarled, twisting herself upright.  
  
Hariel's blue eyes glazed over with green. "Why, you little--"  
  
Kaye dodged as he tried to punch her, impolitely, in the face. She pivoted on her heel, gritting her teeth against the pain that shot through her already beat up body. Hariel managed to block her high kick, and caught her foot, twisting it back and pulling her against him. Kaye used their momentum to tumble over his hip, slapping the ground with her forearms to break her fall.  
  
Kaye's hair fell into her face, throwing her eyes out of focus. She heard Hariel's breathing behind her; it was even and deep, which meant he wasn't tired yet.   
  
But at least he was honorably giving her the time to scramble back to her feet. Did this mean Hariel was fighting back against Cosa?  
  
Kaye wriggled onto her back, catching her breath, before rolling forward onto her feet. There was a sharp pain in her abdomen, and the bandages across it were stained red.   
  
Against one wall was a display of ancient Japanese weapons. Kaye realized that if she got close enough to grab one, she would be able to defend herself more evenly.  
  
Hariel's eyes flickered, then went green again. Kaye lunged for the weapons.  
  
==================================================  
  
Sekhmet's arm snapped out with incredible speed and caught the shaft of Ikari's naginata, centimeters away from it giving Dais a whole new haircut. The white-haired Warlord hit the ground and twisted, his leg scything up to hit Ikari in the jaw.   
  
Ikari slapped the ground as she fell and spun away, joining Doste against the wall. He was ducking out of the fight while Siren held the Warlords, tiger, Mia, Kayura and Tigermoon back with clouds of fog.  
  
"I don't get these guys, they shouldn't fight so well out of armor," Doste panted, holding his arm.  
  
"Well, you can chalk it down to about four hundred years of fighting practice. And that one --" she pointed to Sekhmet, who was healing Dais- "--isn't entirely human. Kayura, with the blue hair, she's from the Ancient's clan. Cale is a samurai lord in his own right, and Dais is tricky as a fox. As for the short girl -- that's a sad story." Ikari laughed nastily. "But I don't doubt our Tigermoon will come through in the end."  
  
"Our Tigermoon?" Doste asked in confusion.   
  
There was a faint smile on Ikari's lips. "Of course, little one. Didn't Shiree and Cosa tell you? No, I suppose not. You're not--"  
  
She choked as Doste held a dagger to her throat. "Tell me who the hell Tigermoon is!" he roared. He'd been teased about his status for long enough, and now Ikari had pushed him over the edge.  
  
"Okay," Ikari choked, realizing her mistake a few seconds too late. "She's from here!"  
  
"What?!" Doste hissed, pressing the blade closer. "Why don't I know this!"  
  
"She fell apart from us. The rest of us agreed to betray her to Talpa. He stripped her powers to make the Gates. Talpa left her with a shattered mind and barely any powers. She probably doesn't remember any of it," Ikari summed up quickly, trying not to breathe.   
  
"But we needed her, so we brought her to Earth, and the Ronins, and predictably enough, she brought them all here..."  
  
"Why the hell do we need her?!" Doste yelled.  
  
"Well, besides helpfully bringing all our enemies here to us, she used to be a Guardian..."  
  
================================================================  
  
Kaye's fingers locked around the hilt of an ancient katana. The katana wasn't her best weapon; she would have preferred a naginata or bo, but Hariel didn't seem to have any conveniently lying around.   
  
Hariel/Cosa stayed out of her range, eyeing her warily. He couldn't get at the weapon rack with Kaye there. He put up his hands. "I surrender," he said in Cosa's voice.  
  
Kaye relaxed slightly, her blue-gray eyes guarded. "Really?"  
  
"No," he smirked. Moving quickly, he smashed his foot into the weapon rack. Kaye had to run and duck as swords, daggers and armor went flying past her head. She skidded on a floor mat, biting her lip as she struggled into a fighting stance while trying to protect her head and injuries.  
  
Hariel/Cosa caught two matching katanas out of the air. "Dance with me?" he smiled, stepping forward.  
  
"No thanks." Kaye managed to block his swords with her own, twisting away. They clashed blades as gracefully as if they were dancing. Kaye's injuries held her back and he was naturally stronger built; but she was faster. Then Kaye performed a version of a 'forbidden move' that she'd learned a long time ago. Hariel's swords went flying and he fell back as Kaye got back into a defensive position.  
  
Hariel/Cosa glared at her. Then he held up his hands, his eyes glowing. Kaye recognized Cosa's power to call on beasts. She looked around wildly, wondering what the hell he was summoning to attack her.  
  
The air between them rippled and became a huge, dark doglike creature. It seemed to be made entirely of black bones with thin spiderwebs of flesh stretched across its dark skeleton. Its eyes burned red in its empty bone sockets as it sniffed the air through bony nasal cavities. Kaye stared at it in disgust and horror. "What the hell *is* that?!"  
  
"Good question," Hariel/Cosa shrugged. "It just came."  
  
The thing leapt for Kaye and she slashed her blade against its neck with force that could behead a normal dog. It slashed off a lot of thin stringy skin but the bones were unaffected, and the creature skidded on its toenails and turned around for another charge.  
  
"Sick," Kaye said in disgust, "I'd expect it of you, Cosa."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Hariel, I know it's hard, but listen to me," Kaye said, backing away from the creature. "If there's any way you can help me, this would be a good time, ya know?"  
  
Kaye watched the prowling creature, calculating. It had to be powered somehow. Her next step was to stab her katana into its chest cavity, then whip the blade through its ribs, trying to destroy its internal organs. Apparently it had none. The creature shook loose the shredded skin and went for her throat. Kaye knocked it back with a simple punch, the creature falling in a clatter of black bones. The air went out of her lungs in a sigh of relief.  
  
"Sorry, Tigress, but it's never that easy." Hariel/Cosa had slipped behind her while she kept an eye on the creature.   
  
Kaye had time for a scream....  
  
==============================================================  
  
Tigermoon had time for a scream too. She immediately regretted it, screaming was such a damsel-in-distress thing. But there were times when a girl really needed to vent her pain and/or rage. Such as when a naginata blade slashes you right in the face.  
  
Kayura, Dais and White Blaze were up against a wall, surrounding Mia. Doste was calmly shooting firebolts at them like he had all the time in the world. Siren had knocked Cale out, but had collapsed in the process. Sekhmet had fallen in a crossfire. He'd been defending Tigermoon, who wasn't allowed a weapon, due to her mental instability. And now Tigermoon was down and defenseless, Ikari standing triumphantly over her.  
  
Tigermoon spaceshifted but only managed to get a few feet away. She knelt on the floor with her hands over her face. Ikari easily covered the distance, setting the tip of her naginata against Tigermoon's collarbone.  
  
"Sorry, little one. But don't you remember? Wherever you go I will find you," Ikari whispered.  
  
"Not everywhere," Tigermoon muttered.  
  
"What?" Ikari leaned forward, which forced her blade against Tigermoon's collarbone.  
  
"Not everywhere, girlfriend!" Tigermoon laughed disturbingly, her eyes glowing. "Catch me if you can!"  
  
She vanished.  
  
===========================================================  
  
Kento was completely trapped by the net of living bamboo. He strained to break free, but the bonds held. Shiree watched, making his blood boil. From time to time she would laugh creepily.  
  
"Look, lady, I don't like being played with. What the hell do you want?" Kento burst out.  
  
Shiree started off laughing again. "I think it's kind of obvious," she said, touching his jaw again.  
  
Kento finally caught on. "Oh. EW!" Kento made a face like a little kid.  
  
"Oh come on Hardrock. That's hardly flattering. Aren't I at least as pretty as the Tigress?" Shiree stepped back and struck a pose.   
  
"Ew!" Kento didn't seem to be listening; he still seemed stuck on 'disgust.'   
  
"Men..." Shiree rolled her eyes.  
  
===========================================================  
  
Kaye managed to dodge the worst of the blow, but Hariel's sword caught her on the shoulder and put her off balance. She grabbed another katana that happened to be nearby and copied his two-handed style.  
  
There was a whoosh of air behind her. Kaye took a step back and half turned.  
  
The black bone creature soared through the air, aiming for her neck. But by stepping aside, Kaye had placed Hariel/Cosa in its path. Unable to stop itself in midair, the creature knocked him to the floor, where he lay stunned.  
  
The creature shook itself in confusion and fixed its red eyes on Kaye.  
  
And then it promptly collapsed. A long thin arrow had buried itself in its eye socket, right in one glowing red eye. The bones hit the floor and crumbled.  
  
"Thanks, Tigermoon," Kaye said calmly.  
  
Tigermoon's fingers shook slightly as she relaxed her grip on the longbow. "I can use a longbow! Why was I not informed of this!"  
  
"Tigermoon, we have to get out of here."  
  
"How come I can use a longbow? I mean, the bloody thing's bigger than I am! Look, it's like six feet long, and I'm five two..."  
  
"Tigermoon, before he got knocked out, he summoned another creature. I saw his eyes glow. We have to get out of here." Kaye tried to stay calm as she took Tigermoon's arm. Tigermoon continued to stare at the arrow through the skull of the creature.  
  
"Granted it's not the most practical weapon. Like, you can't go through any really short doorways with it. But I still --" Tigermoon's confused look gradually changed to one of dawning horror as she stared past Kaye.  
  
Kaye groaned. "It's behind me, isn't it?"  
  
Tigermoon bit her lip and nodded slowly. 


	19. ch 19

Realm Remix  
  
ch 19  
  
The beast that was towering high above them, ranked with formaldehyde, as Kaye slowly turned around to see the same thing that Tigermoon saw, as she was finally fully turned around, she was suddenly wishing that she hadn't. "Oh...My...God.." Kaye whispered as her eyes went wide. The creature was just as ugly as its predecessor, but twice as big. Hariel's form still laid unconscious on the floor, but the pouch that held the crystal and Kaye's orb were laying right between Hariel and the creature.   
  
"Leaving would be a good idea right about now." Tigermoon suggested as she tugged onto Kaye's arm.  
  
Kaye looked back, "I can't leave, not just yet."   
  
Tigermoon's eyes went wide, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What!? Are you out of your mind? You want to stay here?"   
  
Kaye scowled, "no, but I can't leave without that crystal and my orb."   
  
Tigermoon sighed, she knew that if there was any chance that she was going to get Kaye to leave with her was to help. "Alright, since you're dead set about not leaving without them, do you have a plan?"  
  
Kaye smiled and nodded, "yeah, but I don't think that you're going to like it very much."   
  
"Oh no, you're right, I definitely don't like the look that you have in your eyes." Tigermoon replied as she shook her head. The creature roared, acknowledging that its presents is still there. Tigermoon and Kaye both jumped, "ok, ok what do I have to do?"  
  
"Just distract it long enough for me to get that pouch, and then we can get out of here." Kaye replied as she got ready to get it.   
  
"Distract it?! How in the world do you expect me to do that?! Dazzle it with witty conversation?" Tigermoon asked in disbelief.  
  
"I don't know, think of something, be spontaneous." Kaye replied as she was looking for her chance to go for them. As soon as she saw it, Kaye launched from where she and Tigermoon were standing, and the creature's head twisted around and started to turn its body to follow her.  
  
'Here goes nothing.' Tigermoon thought as she took a deep breath and held up her long bow, took aim and fired, hitting the creature right in the throat. 'Yes! Hey,   
  
I'm getting good at this.' The creature's painful roar snapped Tigermoon's attention right up, as she was now facing the creature face to face.   
  
'Almost there.' Kaye thought as she winced in pain from her wound on her abdomen.   
  
"Kaye, hurry up! I don't think that this thing wants to talk!" Tigermoon called out as she held out her long bow towards the creature. As Kaye finally got an arms reach of the pouch, the creature swung it's tail and came with in a hairs distance of wrapping it's tail around Kaye's wounded abdomen. "Kaye! Alright, whatever you are. Just stay right there...I'm warning you." The creature looked straight into Tigermoon's eyes. It could see that as she held onto the long bow that she meant business, so in surprise to Tigermoon, and Kaye, the creature stayed put.   
  
"What the..?" Kaye asked in surprise as she frowned at it.   
  
"Anytime now Kaye." Tigermoon said as she saw that Kaye finally shook out of her daze and grabbed onto the pouch.  
  
"Got it!" Kaye replied with a smirk as she held it up.   
  
"Alright! So now what? I can't exactly hold this thing off much longer, my arms are getting tired." Tigermoon said as she was fighting to keep it up.  
  
"I'm coming." Kaye replied as she started to get back to Tigermoon. "Waiting long?" Kaye smirked at Tigermoon's slight annoyed reaction.  
  
"Mind if we go now?" Tigermoon asked as she frowned at her.   
  
"Yeah, let's get out of here, I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to." Kaye replied as she gripped onto the pouch and winced a bit as she jerked back a bit from avoiding the creature's gigantic head.  
  
"You alright?" Tigermoon asked in concern as she saw that her bandages were soaked with blood. "You're still bleeding."  
  
"Is that what this sticky, red stuff is, I was wondering about that." Kaye replied in sarcasm as she glanced over towards her.  
  
"Hang on, we're about to leave. Buckle your seatbelts, and make sure your trays and seats are in the up right position." Tigermoon said with a smirk as they space shifted out of there. As soon as they were gone, the creature roared angrily from the top of its lungs.  
  
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"If Hariel, Cosa, or whoever it is hurts Kaye, I'll..." Kento warned as his eyes flared with anger.  
  
Just before Shiree could respond, "hey, what about me Kento?" Tigermoon asked as she appeared with Kaye by her side.  
  
"Kaye! Tigermoon, you got her back!" Kento replied as he felt relieved.  
  
"Well duh." Tigermoon said with a smirk, as she rolled her eyes.   
  
Shiree's eyes blazed in anger, "how did, never mind, I know how you got away. Damn you Tigermoon!" Shiree cursed as she glared at them, and then she grinned like a cheshire cat. "It's alright, I still have the advantage, I have your man and your friends, and you're wounded, judging by the soaked bandages, it's pretty bad,"  
  
"There's something that you've missed Shiree." Kaye replied as she glared at her, and then she took out the crystal and her orb. "We have these."  
  
"NO!" Shiree shrieked angrily as her energy hit the roof. "How did you get them!? Give them to me!"  
  
"Let's just say that they were just laying around, and we decided to bring them back to their rightful owners." Tigermoon replied with an air of arrogance.  
  
'Sorry, but that's not an option." Kaye got an idea, she took out her orb and grabbed onto it, and then she chucked the crystal into the air. "Tigermoon, shoot it!"   
  
Tigermoon nodded, took aim, and then shot at the crystal, shattering it into the individual kanji orbs. "Oh yeah, just like trap shooting out on the range!" The kanji orbs hovered in the air, and then flew off towards each of the armor bearers. Shiree watched angrily as the orbs were reunited, and the Ronins were finally breaking out of their bamboo encasements.   
  
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"What's going on?" Doste asked outraged as he and the others saw that the Warlords were finally getting their orbs back.  
  
Dais smirked, "I'll tell you what's going on, it's called payback."  
  
"I think that it's time for us to take our leave." Ikari said as she started to vanish.  
  
"Hey, wait for me!" Doste replied as he vanished as well.   
  
"Where do you think that they've disappeared to?" Mia asked as she looked around at them.  
  
"I'd say that they've went back to regroup with the others." Kayura replied with a slight frown.   
  
"Then shouldn't we get back there as well?" Sekhmet asked as he was starting to get impatient.  
  
"Fine, then let's go." Kayura replied as she slammed down the bottom of the Ancient staff, making the rings on it clang around and transported them to where the others were.  
  
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"What happened?" Cye asked as he and the other Ronins were finally free. "We have our orbs back!"  
  
"Then what are we waiting around here for, let's get ready for some payback." Rowen replied with a glint in his eyes as he and the other Ronins called upon their armors.  
  
"Kaye, how are you holding up?" Tigermoon asked as a hint of concern registered in her voice.  
  
"Besides having pain from my stomach, blood soaked bandages, and fighting off of being tired, it's all good." Kaye replied sarcastically as she gave a wiry smile.   
  
"Time to go to sleep, good night."   
  
"Oh no you don't, come on, try and stay awake." Tigermoon said as she was trying to keep her from drifting off. "Ah guys, I could use some help if you don't mind." 


End file.
